UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS) Shares Up 9% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• UL Solutions shares jumped 9% to approximately $81.87 during mid-day trading, although trading volume was 63% below the average.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with seven Buy ratings and five Holds, an overall “Moderate Buy” consensus, and an average price target of $95.88.
• The company reported quarterly revenue of $823 million, up 5.1% year over year, while meeting earnings expectations at $0.62 per share; it also pays a $0.58 annualized dividend yielding about 0.7%.

UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $82.32 and last traded at $81.8710. Approximately 348,787 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 935,622 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.14.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on ULS. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $86.00 target price on shares of UL Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of UL Solutions in a report on Monday, September 21st. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of UL Solutions from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Weiss Ratings lowered UL Solutions from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut UL Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, UL Solutions presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $95.88.

UL Solutions Stock Up 9.4%

The firm has a market cap of $16.60 billion, a PE ratio of 33.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $70.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.46.

UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62. UL Solutions had a return on equity of 28.81% and a net margin of 16.02%. The firm had revenue of $823.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $815.72 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.56 earnings per share. UL Solutions's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that UL Solutions Inc. will post 2.09 EPS for the current year.

UL Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a $0.1450 dividend. This represents a $0.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. UL Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.48%.

Insider Activity at UL Solutions

In other news, CEO Jennifer Scanlon sold 12,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 126,724 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,880,817.92. The trade was a 8.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UL Solutions by 38.4% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 8,350 shares of the company's stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 2,318 shares during the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new stake in UL Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $782,000. Covestor Ltd purchased a new stake in UL Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Ascent Group LLC lifted its position in UL Solutions by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 10,638 shares of the company's stock worth $698,000 after acquiring an additional 713 shares during the period. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its position in UL Solutions by 130.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 5,257 shares of the company's stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 2,971 shares during the period.

About UL Solutions

UL Solutions Inc NYSE: ULS is a global applied safety science company that provides testing, inspection, certification, and advisory services. The company helps manufacturers, retailers, regulators, and other organizations evaluate the safety, security, performance, quality, and sustainability of products, facilities, and systems.

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

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