UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS) Research Coverage Started at BNP Paribas Exane

BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS) in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings lowered UL Solutions from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on UL Solutions from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on UL Solutions to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Zacks Research raised UL Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.42.

UL Solutions Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of UL Solutions stock opened at $89.91 on Monday. UL Solutions has a 1 year low of $55.29 and a 1 year high of $94.04. The firm has a market cap of $18.08 billion, a PE ratio of 56.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $83.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.07. UL Solutions had a return on equity of 31.62% and a net margin of 10.61%.The firm had revenue of $789.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $782.37 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that UL Solutions will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

UL Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.145 per share. This represents a $0.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This is a boost from UL Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. UL Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 36.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UL Solutions news, CEO Jennifer F. Scanlon sold 12,500 shares of UL Solutions stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.50, for a total transaction of $1,068,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 200,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,166,177. The trade was a 5.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in UL Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of UL Solutions by 3,070.0% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers bought a new stake in shares of UL Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at about $49,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of UL Solutions by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. bought a new stake in shares of UL Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at about $70,000.

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.