Johnson Controls Inc Stock Buy Recommendation Reiterated (JCI)

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Johnson Controls (NYSE:JCI) has been reiterated by TheStreet Ratings as a buy with a ratings score of B . The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, good cash flow from operations and largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had lackluster performance in the stock itself.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• JCI's revenue growth has slightly outpaced the industry average of 2.7%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 0.0%. This growth in revenue does not appear to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, displayed by a decline in earnings per share.
• Net operating cash flow has significantly increased by 407.21% to $298.00 million when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, JOHNSON CONTROLS INC has also vastly surpassed the industry average cash flow growth rate of 42.09%.
• The current debt-to-equity ratio, 0.54, is low and is below the industry average, implying that there has been successful management of debt levels. Despite the fact that JCI's debt-to-equity ratio is low, the quick ratio, which is currently 0.69, displays a potential problem in covering short-term cash needs.
• JOHNSON CONTROLS INC's earnings per share declined by 16.1% in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. The company has suffered a declining pattern of earnings per share over the past two years. However, we anticipate this trend to reverse over the coming year. During the past fiscal year, JOHNSON CONTROLS INC reported lower earnings of $1.81 versus $2.36 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($2.60 versus $1.81).
• The company, on the basis of change in net income from the same quarter one year ago, has underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500 and greatly underperformed compared to the Auto Components industry average. The net income has decreased by 16.5% when compared to the same quarter one year ago, dropping from $424.00 million to $354.00 million.

Johnson Controls, Inc. engages in building efficiency, automotive experience, and power solutions businesses worldwide. Johnson Controls has a market cap of $20.95 billion and is part of the consumer goods sector and automotive industry. The company has a P/E ratio of 18.2, above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are down 0.2% year to date as of the close of trading on Friday.

You can view the full Johnson Controls Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

--Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff.

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