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

Key Points

• UL Solutions has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, based on 11 covering firms: five hold, five buy, and one strong buy. The average 12-month price target is $101.54.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.50 versus estimates of $0.42 and revenue of $758 million versus expectations of $748.5 million. Revenue rose 7.5% year over year.
• There has been notable insider selling, including CEO Jennifer F. Scanlon selling 12,500 shares in early July, while institutional investors such as Vanguard and Capital International Investors have increased their stakes. The stock has traded near $97, close to its 50-day average and below its 52-week high of $107.54.

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

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of UL Solutions from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of UL Solutions from $88.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of UL Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of UL Solutions in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised UL Solutions from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th.

UL Solutions Price Performance

ULS opened at $97.12 on Monday. 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 has a market capitalization of $19.58 billion, a PE ratio of 56.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.63. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $97.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.13. UL Solutions has a 52-week low of $61.64 and a 52-week high of $107.54.

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

UL Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $0.145 dividend. This represents a $0.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. UL Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.92%.

Insider Activity at UL Solutions

In other news, CEO Jennifer F. Scanlon sold 12,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.22, for a total transaction of $1,240,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 164,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,294,305.28. The trade was a 7.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Karen K. Pepping sold 725 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.74, for a total transaction of $70,861.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,082 shares in the company, valued at $789,934.68. This represents a 8.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 65,705 shares of company stock valued at $6,460,300 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of UL Solutions

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ULS. Capital International Investors raised its stake in UL Solutions by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,043,735 shares of the company's stock valued at $634,616,000 after buying an additional 495,424 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of UL Solutions by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,740,636 shares of the company's stock worth $531,567,000 after acquiring an additional 1,213,188 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of UL Solutions by 10.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 545,528 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of UL Solutions by 20.6% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,942,905 shares of the company's stock valued at $279,394,000 after acquiring an additional 674,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of UL Solutions by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,024,820 shares of the company's stock worth $238,538,000 after purchasing an additional 54,910 shares during the last quarter.

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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