Johnson Controls (JCI) Raises Quarterly Dividend by 18% - Analyst Blog

Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI) raised its quarterly dividend by 18% to 26 cents per share from 22 cents paid earlier. The increased dividend will be paid on Jan 5, 2015 to shareholders of record as on Dec 12, 2014.

The new dividend implies an annual yield of 2.1% based on the closing share price of $50.19 as of Nov 19, up from the yield of 1.8% based on the old dividend.

Johnson Controls regularly increases its dividend to boost shareholder value. The company has raised its dividend in 34 of the last 36 years. It had only stalled the dividend increases in 2008 and 2009 due to the global recession. Moreover, the company has regularly paid dividends since 1887.

Johnson Controls reported adjusted earnings of $1.04 per share in fourth-quarter fiscal 2014 (ended Sep 30, 2014), surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.01. Earnings were up 14.3% from 91 cents in the comparable quarter of the previous year.

Revenues in the reported quarter went up 2.6% year over year to $10.98 billion, lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $11.21 billion. Revenue growth across all the segments led to the upside.

Johnson Controls posted a year-over-year rise of 24.7% in adjusted earnings to $3.18 per share for full-year 2014, a penny ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Revenues for the full year increased 3.4% to roughly $42.8 billion from $41.4 billion in 2013, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $43.2 billion.

Johnson Controls is a supplier of automotive interiors, batteries and other control equipment. It currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Investors interested in the auto industry could consider stocks like Gentex Corp. (GNTX), Douglas Dynamics, Inc. (PLOW) and STRATTEC Security Corporation (STRT), all sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

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