What happened
A Wall Street analyst has an upbeat view on Johnson Controls International (JCI -0.86%), and the stock is getting a boost as a result. Shares of Johnson Controls traded up as much as 2.2% after Barclays raised its price target on the stock.
So what
Johnson Controls is focused on heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems (HVAC), and the stock has had a rough year as investors have grown increasingly concerned about homebuilding activity in a rising rate environment. Shares of Johnson Controls at one point had lost more than 40% of their value year to date, but have slowly been staging a comeback in recent weeks.
Barclays analyst Julian Mitchell believes the move has been justified. On Thursday, the analyst raised his price target to $73 from $66 and kept an overweight rating on the shares. The analyst has a neutral view on U.S. multi-industry stocks heading into 2023 but wrote that he is more optimistic than many investors.
Now what
Mitchell's optimism backs Johnson Controls' own guidance from early November that helped kick-start a turnaround in the shares. Following its earnings call, Johnson Controls said that despite a slowdown in housing, it still sees robust demand for its products heading into 2023. The company expects earnings per share to grow 7% to 20% in 2023, which on a per-share basis offers significant upside to what analysts had expected.
Industrials face headwinds heading into 2023, and exposure to residential construction is a wild card, but Johnson Controls is a solid business that appears set up well to handle whatever turbulence lies up ahead. For long-term-focused investors, this could be a good time to take a look at Johnson Controls' stock.
