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

Key Points

• UL Solutions has a “Moderate Buy” consensus from 11 analysts, with an average 12-month price target of $101.54. Recent calls were mixed, including higher targets from JPMorgan, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo, while others kept neutral or outperform ratings.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, earning $0.50 per share versus the $0.42 estimate and generating $758 million in revenue, above expectations. Revenue rose 7.5% year over year, and analysts expect full-year EPS of about 2.1.
• Insider selling has been notable, with executives and directors selling shares in recent weeks, including more than 65,000 shares sold over the last quarter. Despite that, institutional investors such as Bank of America and Argent Capital increased their holdings.

Shares of UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $101.54.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ULS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of UL Solutions from $88.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of UL Solutions from $87.80 to $106.40 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of UL Solutions from $102.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of UL Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of UL Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Gitte Schjotz sold 12,015 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.71, for a total transaction of $1,198,015.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 69,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,900,530.26. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Friedrich Hecker sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.04, for a total transaction of $408,160.00. Following the transaction, the director 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 65,705 shares of company stock valued at $6,288,800 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UL Solutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of UL Solutions by 349.3% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 301 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of UL Solutions by 53.9% during the first quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 76,644 shares of the company's stock worth $6,569,000 after acquiring an additional 26,828 shares during the last quarter. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. bought a new position in shares of UL Solutions during the first quarter worth $300,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of UL Solutions by 68.2% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 113,623 shares of the company's stock worth $9,739,000 after acquiring an additional 46,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of UL Solutions by 11.3% during the first quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 2,516 shares of the company's stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter.

UL Solutions Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of ULS stock opened at $97.77 on Thursday. UL Solutions has a 12 month low of $61.64 and a 12 month high of $107.54. The stock has a market cap of $19.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.62.

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

UL Solutions Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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