UL Solutions (ULS) Competitors

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) and UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS) are both large-cap business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, risk, dividends, valuation, media sentiment and earnings.

Which has more volatility and risk, WCN or ULS?

Waste Connections has a beta of 0.58, suggesting that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, UL Solutions has a beta of 1, suggesting that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.

Is WCN or ULS more profitable?

UL Solutions has a net margin of 11.08% compared to Waste Connections' net margin of 6.97%. UL Solutions' return on equity of 39.09% beat Waste Connections' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Waste Connections	6.97%	15.72%	6.32%
UL Solutions	11.08%	39.09%	12.84%

Is WCN or ULS a better dividend stock?

Waste Connections pays an annual dividend of $1.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. UL Solutions pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections pays out 50.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. UL Solutions pays out 31.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Waste Connections has increased its dividend for 8 consecutive years. UL Solutions is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do analysts recommend WCN or ULS?

Waste Connections presently has a consensus price target of $215.00, suggesting a potential upside of 14.46%. UL Solutions has a consensus price target of $70.86, suggesting a potential upside of 8.28%. Given Waste Connections' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Waste Connections is more favorable than UL Solutions.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Waste Connections	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	11 Buy rating(s)	5 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.11
UL Solutions	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.43

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in WCN or ULS?

86.1% of Waste Connections shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Waste Connections shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of UL Solutions shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media favor WCN or ULS?

In the previous week, Waste Connections had 1 more articles in the media than UL Solutions. MarketBeat recorded 20 mentions for Waste Connections and 19 mentions for UL Solutions. UL Solutions' average media sentiment score of 1.07 beat Waste Connections' score of 0.60 indicating that UL Solutions is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Waste Connections	12 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
UL Solutions	8 Very Positive mention(s)	6 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has better valuation and earnings, WCN or ULS?

Waste Connections has higher revenue and earnings than UL Solutions. UL Solutions is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Waste Connections, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Waste Connections	$8.92B	5.44	$617.57M	$2.48	75.74
UL Solutions	$2.87B	4.57	$326M	$1.67	39.18

Summary

Waste Connections beats UL Solutions on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.