Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,810,000 shares, a growth of 6.5% from the June 30th total of 10,150,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,980,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Johnson Controls International Stock Down 1.7 %

JCI stock traded down $1.21 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $70.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,970,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,388,905. The company has a market cap of $47.38 billion, a PE ratio of 28.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28. Johnson Controls International has a 12 month low of $47.90 and a 12 month high of $75.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $69.43 and its 200-day moving average is $64.19.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $7.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.53 billion. Johnson Controls International had a return on equity of 13.21% and a net margin of 6.32%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson Controls International will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 24th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 24th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.92%.

Insider Activity at Johnson Controls International

In related news, VP Daniel C. Mcconeghy sold 9,342 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.50, for a total transaction of $611,901.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 25,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,662,259. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Daniel C. Mcconeghy sold 9,342 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.50, for a total value of $611,901.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 25,378 shares in the company, valued at $1,662,259. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Juergen Tinggren sold 4,000 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.31, for a total value of $249,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 30,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,876,777.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 18,067 shares of company stock valued at $1,163,404. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson Controls International

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Johnson Controls International by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,387,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,114,756,000 after buying an additional 10,522,009 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,419,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $946,411,000 after purchasing an additional 305,798 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 85.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,142,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $923,804,000 after purchasing an additional 6,520,580 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,528,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $779,768,000 after purchasing an additional 618,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 95.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,760,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $833,491,000 after purchasing an additional 6,247,250 shares in the last quarter. 90.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on JCI. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. UBS Group cut Johnson Controls International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $59.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.08.

About Johnson Controls International

Johnson Controls International plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in engineering, manufacturing, commissioning, and retrofitting building products and systems in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates in four segments: Building Solutions North America, Building Solutions EMEA/LA, Building Solutions Asia Pacific, and Global Products.