UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate UL Solutions “Moderate Buy”: Six of 11 analysts recommend buying the stock, while five rate it a hold. The average 12-month price target is $96.78, well above the reported $73.97 share price.
• Quarterly results exceeded expectations: UL Solutions reported earnings of $0.59 per share versus the $0.56 consensus estimate, with revenue of $816 million, up 5.2% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.145 per share, equivalent to an annualized $0.58 payout and a 0.8% yield. Meanwhile, insiders sold 47,605 shares worth approximately $4.6 million over the past three months.

Shares of UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the eleven research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $96.78.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ULS shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of UL Solutions in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on UL Solutions from $106.40 to $82.80 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of UL Solutions from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $100.00 price objective on UL Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $86.00 price target on UL Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th.

UL Solutions Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of ULS stock opened at $73.97 on Tuesday. UL Solutions has a 12-month low of $61.64 and a 12-month high of $107.54. The company has a 50 day moving average of $86.85 and a 200-day moving average of $87.74. The firm has a market cap of $14.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.95, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $816.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $813.62 million. UL Solutions had a net margin of 16.02% and a return on equity of 28.81%. The company's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that UL Solutions will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

UL Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a $0.145 dividend. This represents a $0.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. UL Solutions's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

Insider Activity at UL Solutions

In other UL Solutions news, CEO Jennifer F. Scanlon sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.08, for a total transaction of $1,151,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 151,724 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,970,745.92. This trade represents a 7.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gitte Schjotz sold 12,015 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.71, for a total value of $1,198,015.65. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 69,206 shares in the company, valued at $6,900,530.26. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 47,605 shares of company stock valued at $4,616,835. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of UL Solutions by 10,220.7% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 8,703,631 shares of the company's stock worth $886,552,000 after buying an additional 8,619,299 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of UL Solutions by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,043,735 shares of the company's stock worth $634,616,000 after buying an additional 495,424 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of UL Solutions by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,740,636 shares of the company's stock valued at $531,567,000 after buying an additional 1,213,188 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of UL Solutions by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,878,995 shares of the company's stock valued at $463,618,000 after buying an additional 545,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of UL Solutions by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,024,820 shares of the company's stock valued at $238,538,000 after acquiring an additional 54,910 shares during the period.

About UL Solutions

UL Solutions NYSE: ULS is a global safety science company that provides testing, inspection, certification, advisory and digital solutions designed to help organizations manage risk, ensure regulatory compliance and drive innovation. With roots dating back to 1894 when it was founded as Underwriters' Electrical Bureau, the company rebranded as UL Solutions following its initial public offering in 2022. Headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, UL Solutions operates independently to serve a broad range of industries with an emphasis on product safety, performance and sustainability.

The company's core services include standards development, product testing and certification for sectors such as building products, consumer electronics, automotive, life sciences, energy and industrial equipment.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source