Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) Short Interest Up 6.5% in July

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

Johnson Controls International Stock Performance

JCI stock traded down $1.21 during trading on Thursday, reaching $70.33. The stock had a trading volume of 5,970,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,389,976. Johnson Controls International has a 52 week low of $47.90 and a 52 week high of $75.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $69.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.19. 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 has a market cap of $47.38 billion, a PE ratio of 28.48, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. Johnson Controls International had a return on equity of 13.21% and a net margin of 6.32%. The firm had revenue of $7.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Johnson Controls International will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson Controls International news, COO Nathan D. Manning sold 1,167 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.01, for a total transaction of $77,033.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 104,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,901,741.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, COO Nathan D. Manning sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.86, for a total transaction of $188,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 106,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,719,168.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Nathan D. Manning sold 1,167 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.01, for a total value of $77,033.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 104,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,901,741.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,234 shares of company stock valued at $1,245,923. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson Controls International

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in Johnson Controls International during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Johnson Controls International by 114.0% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in Johnson Controls International by 65.2% during the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on JCI. Barclays dropped their target price on Johnson Controls International from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Johnson Controls International from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Johnson Controls International from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Johnson Controls International from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently 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.