UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS) Stock Rated "Moderate Buy" by Sell-Side Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts rate UL Solutions a “Moderate Buy”: Seven of 12 analysts recommend buying the stock, while five recommend holding it. The average 12-month price target is $95.88, well above the reported $71.17 share price.
• Recent performance has weakened despite an earnings beat: Shares are below their 200-day moving average and near the lower end of their 52-week range, while quarterly EPS of $0.59 and revenue of $816 million exceeded estimates.
• Investors receive a modest dividend, while insiders have sold shares: UL Solutions pays $0.58 annually per share, yielding about 0.8%, and insiders sold 37,500 shares worth approximately $2.95 million over the past 90 days.

UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $95.88.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ULS shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of UL Solutions from $106.40 to $82.80 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of UL Solutions from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Zacks Research cut shares of UL Solutions from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of UL Solutions from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $86.00 target price on shares of UL Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th.

UL Solutions Price Performance

ULS opened at $71.17 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day moving average is $71.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.24. UL Solutions has a 1 year low of $63.17 and a 1 year high of $107.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.37 billion, a PE ratio of 28.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.72.

UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $816.00 million during 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 firm's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that UL Solutions will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UL Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were given a dividend of $0.1450 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. UL Solutions's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.48%.

Insider Activity at UL Solutions

In other news, CEO Jennifer Scanlon sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.08, for a total transaction of $876,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 126,724 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,880,817.92. This represents a 8.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 37,500 shares of company stock worth $2,947,750. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in UL Solutions by 10.2% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of UL Solutions by 2.0% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,265,772 shares of the company's stock worth $194,199,000 after acquiring an additional 44,103 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of UL Solutions by 12.5% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,744,523 shares of the company's stock valued at $147,534,000 after acquiring an additional 193,610 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of UL Solutions by 0.3% during the first quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,049,607 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,962,000 after acquiring an additional 3,031 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of UL Solutions by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 855,439 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,460,000 after acquiring an additional 69,116 shares in the last quarter.

About UL Solutions

UL Solutions Inc NYSE: ULS is a global applied safety science company that helps organizations assess and manage safety, security, sustainability and performance risks. The company provides testing, inspection and certification services, along with advisory and software solutions, for products, facilities, systems and supply chains.

Its services support a broad range of industries, including consumer products, industrial equipment, energy, mobility, information technology and the built environment.

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