Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) versus Boise Cascade (NYSE:BCC) Head-To-Head Contrast

Boise Cascade (NYSE:BCC) and Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) are both construction companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, institutional ownership and earnings.

Dividends

Boise Cascade pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Johnson Controls International pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Boise Cascade pays out 10.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Johnson Controls International pays out 39.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Boise Cascade has increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years and Johnson Controls International has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Boise Cascade and Johnson Controls International”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Boise Cascade	$6.72 billion	0.47	$376.35 million	$8.01	10.38
Johnson Controls International	$22.95 billion	3.05	$1.71 billion	$3.75	28.39

Johnson Controls International has higher revenue and earnings than Boise Cascade. Boise Cascade is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Johnson Controls International, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Boise Cascade and Johnson Controls International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Boise Cascade	4.72%	14.36%	8.95%
Johnson Controls International	9.53%	14.71%	5.91%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

96.2% of Boise Cascade shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.1% of Johnson Controls International shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Boise Cascade shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Johnson Controls International shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Boise Cascade has a beta of 1.28, meaning that its stock price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Johnson Controls International has a beta of 1.3, meaning that its stock price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Boise Cascade and Johnson Controls International, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Boise Cascade	0	3	4	0	2.57
Johnson Controls International	0	9	9	0	2.50

Boise Cascade currently has a consensus target price of $116.00, indicating a potential upside of 39.48%. Johnson Controls International has a consensus target price of $105.17, indicating a potential downside of 1.23%. Given Boise Cascade’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Boise Cascade is more favorable than Johnson Controls International.

Summary

Johnson Controls International beats Boise Cascade on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Boise Cascade

Boise Cascade Company engages in manufacture of wood products and distribution of building materials in the United States and Canada. It operates through two segments, Wood Products and Building Materials Distribution. The Wood Products segment manufactures laminated veneer lumber and laminated beams used in headers and beams; I-joists for residential and commercial flooring and roofing systems, and other structural applications; structural, appearance, and industrial plywood panels; and ponderosa pine shop lumber and appearance grade boards. The Building Materials Distribution segment distributes a line of building materials, including oriented strand boards, plywood, and lumber; general line items, such as siding, composite decking, doors, metal products, insulation, and roofing; and engineered wood products. It markets and sells its products to dealers, home improvement centers, wholesalers, specialty distributors, and industrial converters for use in the construction of new residential housing, repair-and-remodeling of existing housing, construction of light industrial and commercial buildings, and other industrial applications. Boise Cascade Company was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Boise, Idaho.

About Johnson Controls International

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.