UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS) Reaches New 52-Week Low - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• UL Solutions shares fell 5.6% to a new 52-week low of $65.85, well below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $80.45 and $87.73, respectively.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $96.78, although several firms recently lowered their targets and one downgraded the stock to “Hold.”
• The company reported quarterly revenue of $816 million and EPS of $0.59, exceeding analyst expectations, while declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.145, or a 0.9% annualized yield.

UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $65.85 and last traded at $65.9760, with a volume of 476882 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $69.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ULS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded UL Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $86.00 price objective on UL Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded UL Solutions from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group decreased their target price on UL Solutions from $110.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on UL Solutions from $106.40 to $82.80 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, UL Solutions has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $96.78.

UL Solutions Stock Down 5.6%

The business's 50 day simple moving average is $80.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.73. The company has a market capitalization of $13.25 billion, a PE ratio of 26.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.63. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. UL Solutions had a return on equity of 28.81% and a net margin of 16.02%.The company had revenue of $816.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $813.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that UL Solutions Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

UL Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a $0.145 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. UL Solutions's payout ratio is presently 23.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jennifer Scanlon sold 12,500 shares of UL Solutions stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.66, for a total value of $920,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 139,224 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,255,239.84. The trade was a 8.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 37,500 shares of company stock worth $3,312,000 over the last 90 days. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ULS. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of UL Solutions by 78.6% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 103,331 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,149,000 after acquiring an additional 45,467 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UL Solutions by 543.1% in the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 192,915 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,213,000 after purchasing an additional 162,915 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in UL Solutions by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,282,676 shares of the company's stock valued at $101,174,000 after purchasing an additional 230,660 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in UL Solutions by 9,024.5% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 337,881 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,645,000 after purchasing an additional 334,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board bought a new position in UL Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $1,214,000.

About UL Solutions

UL Solutions Inc NYSE: ULS is a global applied safety science company that provides testing, inspection, certification, verification and advisory services. The company helps manufacturers, retailers, regulators and other organizations assess whether products, systems and processes meet applicable safety, security, performance and sustainability requirements.

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

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