UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS) Stock Price Down 3.9% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shares fell 3.9% to $83.87 on Wednesday with about 501,620 shares traded, roughly 50% below the stock's average session volume.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed—MarketBeat shows a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $87.60, while some firms raised targets (e.g., Wells Fargo) and others cut or downgraded.
• UL Solutions beat quarterly expectations (EPS $0.53 vs. $0.46 estimate; revenue $789M) and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.145 (annualized $0.58, ~0.7% yield).

UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 3.9% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $84.19 and last traded at $83.8740. 501,620 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 1,004,126 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.32.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on UL Solutions to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Citigroup cut their price target on UL Solutions from $88.10 to $87.80 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on UL Solutions from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings downgraded UL Solutions from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of UL Solutions from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $87.60.

UL Solutions Trading Down 0.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company's 50-day moving average price is $77.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.44 billion, a PE ratio of 54.55, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.87.

UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $789.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $782.37 million. UL Solutions had a return on equity of 31.62% and a net margin of 10.61%.UL Solutions's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that UL Solutions Inc. will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current year.

UL Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a dividend of $0.145 per share. This is a boost from UL Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. UL Solutions's dividend payout ratio is 36.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UL Solutions

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ULS. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in UL Solutions by 18.2% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 864 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in shares of UL Solutions by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 3,541 shares of the company's stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UL Solutions by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 3,477 shares of the company's stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of UL Solutions by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 4,174 shares of the company's stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sheets Smith Wealth Management grew its position in shares of UL Solutions by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 4,674 shares of the company's stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter.

UL Solutions Company Profile

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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