Analyzing Johnson Controls International (JCI) and Its Peers

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) is one of 15 publicly-traded companies in the “BLDG PRD – WOOD” industry, but how does it compare to its competitors? We will compare Johnson Controls International to similar companies based on the strength of its institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends and profitability.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

90.1% of Johnson Controls International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.9% of shares of all “BLDG PRD – WOOD” companies are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Johnson Controls International shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.4% of shares of all “BLDG PRD – WOOD” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Johnson Controls International and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Johnson Controls International	10.19%	15.13%	6.10%
Johnson Controls International Competitors	7.39%	10.15%	5.97%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Johnson Controls International and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Johnson Controls International	0	8	9	0	2.53
Johnson Controls International Competitors	186	1156	1091	47	2.40

Johnson Controls International currently has a consensus target price of $97.88, indicating a potential downside of 5.46%. As a group, “BLDG PRD – WOOD” companies have a potential upside of 30.41%. Given Johnson Controls International’s competitors higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Johnson Controls International has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Dividends

Johnson Controls International pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Johnson Controls International pays out 39.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “BLDG PRD – WOOD” companies pay a dividend yield of 1.7% and pay out 37.6% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Johnson Controls International has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Johnson Controls International lags its competitors as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Volatility & Risk

Johnson Controls International has a beta of 1.33, indicating that its share price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Johnson Controls International’s competitors have a beta of 1.49, indicating that their average share price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Johnson Controls International and its competitors gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Johnson Controls International	$22.95 billion	$1.71 billion	27.61
Johnson Controls International Competitors	$4.92 billion	$298.49 million	-12.43

Johnson Controls International has higher revenue and earnings than its competitors. Johnson Controls International is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Johnson Controls International beats its competitors on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

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. The company designs, sells, installs, and services heating, ventilating, air conditioning, controls, building management, refrigeration, integrated electronic security, integrated fire detection and suppression systems, and fire protection and security products for commercial, industrial, retail, small business, institutional, and governmental customers. It also provides energy efficiency solutions and technical services, including inspection, scheduled maintenance, and repair and replacement of mechanical and control systems, as well as data-driven smart building solutions to non-residential building and industrial applications. In addition, the company offers control software and software services for residential and commercial applications. Johnson Controls International plc was incorporated in 1885 and is headquartered in Cork, Ireland.