UL Solutions (ULS) Competitors

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

Which has more risk & volatility, ULS or WCN?

UL Solutions has a beta of 1.02, suggesting that its stock price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Waste Connections has a beta of 0.6, suggesting that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is ULS or WCN a better dividend stock?

UL Solutions pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Waste Connections pays an annual dividend of $1.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. UL Solutions pays out 31.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Waste Connections pays out 51.9% 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 raised its dividend for 8 consecutive years. UL Solutions is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Does the media favor ULS or WCN?

In the previous week, Waste Connections had 6 more articles in the media than UL Solutions. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for Waste Connections and 3 mentions for UL Solutions. UL Solutions' average media sentiment score of 0.53 beat Waste Connections' score of 0.38 indicating that UL Solutions is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
UL Solutions	1 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Waste Connections	4 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has better earnings & valuation, ULS or WCN?

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
UL Solutions	$2.87B	4.94	$326M	$1.67	42.38
Waste Connections	$8.92B	5.30	$617.57M	$2.43	75.24

Is ULS or WCN more profitable?

UL Solutions has a net margin of 11.60% compared to Waste Connections' net margin of 6.93%. UL Solutions' return on equity of 40.79% beat Waste Connections' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
UL Solutions	11.60%	40.79%	12.99%
Waste Connections	6.93%	15.74%	6.36%

Do analysts rate ULS or WCN?

UL Solutions presently has a consensus target price of $69.43, suggesting a potential downside of 1.90%. Waste Connections has a consensus target price of $213.93, suggesting a potential upside of 17.01%. Given Waste Connections' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Waste Connections is more favorable than UL Solutions.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
UL Solutions	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.43
Waste Connections	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	11 Buy rating(s)	4 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.06

Do insiders & institutionals believe in ULS or WCN?

86.1% of Waste Connections shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of UL Solutions shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Waste Connections shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

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