UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: Six of 11 analysts rate UL Solutions a buy and five recommend holding, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus. The average 12-month price target is $101.54, with recent targets ranging from $106.40 to $120.
• Quarterly results exceeded expectations: UL Solutions reported earnings of $0.50 per share versus the $0.42 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $758 million, up 7.5% year over year and above forecasts.
• Shares trade near $92.20, while insiders have been selling: The stock remains below its one-year high of $107.54, and insiders sold 53,205 shares worth approximately $5.3 million over the past 90 days. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.145 per share, yielding about 0.6% annually.

Shares of UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $101.54.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ULS shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of UL Solutions from $102.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings raised UL Solutions from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup upped their price objective on UL Solutions from $87.80 to $106.40 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on UL Solutions in a research report on Monday, April 20th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of UL Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th.

Insider Activity

In other UL Solutions 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 value of $1,198,015.65. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 69,206 shares in the company, valued at $6,900,530.26. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Friedrich Hecker sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.04, for a total transaction of $408,160.00. Following the sale, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 53,205 shares of company stock valued at $5,315,675. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UL Solutions

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of UL Solutions by 3,070.0% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 634 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers bought a new position in shares of UL Solutions during the first quarter worth approximately $49,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in UL Solutions by 112.7% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 904 shares of the company's stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in UL Solutions by 42.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 823 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period.

UL Solutions Price Performance

Shares of ULS opened at $92.20 on Friday. 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's fifty day simple moving average is $93.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.18. UL Solutions has a 1-year low of $61.64 and a 1-year high of $107.54. The company has a market cap of $18.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.92, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.63.

UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $758.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $748.50 million. UL Solutions had a net margin of 11.24% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.37 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that UL Solutions will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UL Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.145 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. UL Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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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