Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Increases Holdings in UL Solutions Inc. $ULS

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group sharply increased its stake in UL Solutions, boosting holdings by 543.1% in the fourth quarter to 192,915 shares valued at about $15.2 million.
• UL Solutions recently reported strong quarterly earnings, posting EPS of $0.50 versus estimates of $0.42 and revenue of $758 million, up 7.5% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and a price target of $101.54, while the stock was last trading near $102.87 after reaching a 52-week high of $107.54.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS - Free Report) by 543.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 192,915 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 162,915 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned 0.10% of UL Solutions worth $15,213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of UL Solutions by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,550,913 shares of the company's stock worth $125,484,000 after acquiring an additional 167,564 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of UL Solutions by 405.7% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 593,484 shares of the company's stock worth $42,054,000 after acquiring an additional 476,121 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of UL Solutions by 1,981.8% during the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 68,469 shares of the company's stock worth $4,852,000 after acquiring an additional 65,180 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of UL Solutions by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 821,596 shares of the company's stock worth $58,218,000 after acquiring an additional 164,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. boosted its stake in shares of UL Solutions by 99.3% during the 3rd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 108,079 shares of the company's stock worth $7,658,000 after acquiring an additional 53,856 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ULS shares. Wall Street Zen raised UL Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of UL Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research raised UL Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Bank of America upped their target price on UL Solutions to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on UL Solutions from $87.80 to $106.40 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $101.54.

UL Solutions Price Performance

ULS stock opened at $102.87 on Monday. UL Solutions Inc. has a 1 year low of $61.64 and a 1 year high of $107.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $90.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.45. The firm has a market cap of $20.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.16, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.59.

UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.08. UL Solutions had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 11.24%.The firm had revenue of $758.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $748.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.37 EPS. UL Solutions's revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that UL Solutions Inc. will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UL Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a $0.145 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. UL Solutions's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UL Solutions news, EVP Alberto Uggetti sold 6,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $610,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 10,307 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,030,700. This represents a 37.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Friedrich Hecker sold 4,000 shares of UL Solutions stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.04, for a total value of $408,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,344,887.20. This represents a 23.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 43,100 shares of company stock worth $4,063,215 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

UL Solutions Company Profile

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.

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