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 stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, risk, media sentiment, valuation and earnings.

Which has more volatility & risk, ULS or WCN?

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

Do institutionals and insiders believe in ULS or WCN?

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

Does the media prefer ULS or WCN?

In the previous week, Waste Connections had 5 more articles in the media than UL Solutions. MarketBeat recorded 19 mentions for Waste Connections and 14 mentions for UL Solutions. UL Solutions' average media sentiment score of 1.26 beat Waste Connections' score of 0.95 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	11 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Waste Connections	14 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts prefer ULS or WCN?

UL Solutions presently has a consensus price target of $70.86, suggesting a potential upside of 11.88%. Waste Connections has a consensus price target of $215.00, suggesting a potential upside of 17.31%. 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)	5 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.11

Is ULS or WCN 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 37.33% beat Waste Connections' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
UL Solutions	11.08%	37.33%	12.76%
Waste Connections	6.97%	15.72%	6.32%

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 0.8%. Waste Connections pays an annual dividend of $1.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. UL Solutions pays out 32.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Waste Connections pays out 50.8% 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.

Which has better valuation & earnings, 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	4.43	$326M	$1.62	39.10
Waste Connections	$8.92B	5.31	$617.57M	$2.48	73.90

Summary

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