UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS) Shares Down 3.9% – What’s Next?

Shares of UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS) fell 3.9% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $84.19 and last traded at $83.8740. 501,620 shares traded 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

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ULS. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of UL Solutions to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on UL Solutions from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on UL Solutions from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings cut UL Solutions from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded UL Solutions from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $87.60.

UL Solutions Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $16.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.87. The business’s fifty day moving average is $77.68 and its 200 day moving average is $78.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $789.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $782.37 million. UL Solutions had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 31.62%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that UL Solutions Inc. will post 1.69 EPS for the current year.

UL Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a $0.145 dividend. This represents a $0.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This is a positive change from UL Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. UL Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 36.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UL Solutions

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in UL Solutions by 119.5% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 143,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,090,000 after buying an additional 78,081 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UL Solutions by 104.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 460,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,953,000 after buying an additional 234,913 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of UL Solutions by 11.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 123,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,981,000 after acquiring an additional 13,205 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers purchased a new position in shares of UL Solutions in the first quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UL Solutions by 28.2% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period.

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.