Johnson Controls Rewards Shareholders With 8% Dividend Hike

In a shareholder-friendly move, Johnson Controls International plc JCI has announced a hike in its dividend payout. The company increased its quarterly dividend by 8% to 40 cents per share (annually: $1.60). The move underscores JCI’s sound financial health as it utilizes free cash flow to enhance its shareholders’ returns.The new dividend will be paid out on Oct. 17, 2025, to shareholders of record as of Sept. 22. The company’s dividend yield, based on its Sept. 10 closing price, is approximately 1.4%.Strong cash flow generation capacity supports Johnson Controls’ shareholder-friendly activities. For instance, in the first nine months of fiscal 2025 (ended June 2025), the company generated a free cash flow of $1.28 billion.JCI’s Shareholder-Friendly MovesIn the first nine months of fiscal 2025, Johnson Controls paid a dividend worth $733 million to its shareholders. The company also repurchased shares worth $970 million in the same period. Also, in fiscal 2024 (ended September 2025), Johnson Controls returned $2.2 billion to shareholders through a combination of dividends ($1 billion) and share repurchases ($1.2 billion).Apart from this, in June 2025, JCI announced a new $9 billion share repurchase program. This was in addition to the $1.1 billion that was available under its 2021 authorization as of the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2025 (ended March 2025). At the end of third-quarter fiscal 2025 (ended June 2025), the company had $9.8 billion remaining under this program.Zacks Rank & Price PerformanceJohnson Controls, with a $70.5 billion market capitalization, currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). The company is gaining from solid momentum in the Americas unit, supported by an increase in demand for the HVAC platform and strength in controls businesses. Investments in digital offerings, like the OpenBlue platform, are benefiting JCI.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchYear to date, the company’s shares have gained 36.6% compared with the industry’s growth of 10.4%.However, escalating operating expenses due to higher transformation costs and transaction costs are likely to dent its bottom line. Also, high debt levels can raise the company’s financial obligations.Stocks to ConsiderSome better-ranked stocks from the same space are discussed below.Comfort Systems USA, Inc. FIX presently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Comfort Systems delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 22.4%. In the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for FIX’s 2025 earnings has increased 10.8%.Lennox International Inc. LII currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). LII delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 15.4%.In the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Lennox’s 2025 earnings has increased 5%.Nordson Corporation NDSN currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2. NDSN delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 3.2%.In the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Nordson’s fiscal 2025 (ending October 2025) earnings has increased 0.7%.7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 DaysJust released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.5% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Johnson Controls International plc (JCI): Free Stock Analysis Report Lennox International, Inc. (LII): Free Stock Analysis Report Nordson Corporation (NDSN): Free Stock Analysis Report Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (FIX): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks