Short Interest in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) Rises By 29.1%

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,860,000 shares, a growth of 29.1% from the August 15th total of 9,190,000 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,450,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JCI traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $72.51. The company had a trading volume of 2,507,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,209,991. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.29. Johnson Controls International has a twelve month low of $47.90 and a twelve month high of $75.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $7.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.53 billion. Johnson Controls International had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 13.64%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson Controls International will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 25th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 25th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. Johnson Controls International’s payout ratio is 59.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on JCI shares. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays lowered their target price on Johnson Controls International from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Johnson Controls International from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Johnson Controls International from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson Controls International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson Controls International news, COO Nathan D. Manning sold 1,167 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.75, for a total value of $84,899.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 143,488 shares in the company, valued at $10,438,752. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 4,245 shares of company stock worth $295,442 in the last quarter. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson Controls International

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of JCI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,387,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,114,756,000 after buying an additional 10,522,009 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,419,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $946,411,000 after purchasing an additional 305,798 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 85.5% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,142,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $923,804,000 after purchasing an additional 6,520,580 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,514,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $778,962,000 after purchasing an additional 604,142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 95.9% during 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

Johnson Controls International Company Profile

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.