UL Solutions Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:ULS)

UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 2,251 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 445% compared to the average daily volume of 413 put options.

Institutional Trading of UL Solutions

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in UL Solutions by 48.4% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 524 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in UL Solutions in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in UL Solutions by 3,070.0% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers purchased a new stake in UL Solutions during the 1st quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of UL Solutions by 28.2% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 731 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ULS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of UL Solutions in a report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of UL Solutions from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Zacks Research raised shares of UL Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 31st. Baird R W upgraded shares of UL Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of UL Solutions from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UL Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.57.

UL Solutions Price Performance

Shares of ULS opened at $72.86 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $14.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.63 and a beta of 1.09. UL Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $49.34 and a fifty-two week high of $91.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $81.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.94.

UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $783.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $769.01 million. UL Solutions had a net margin of 11.29% and a return on equity of 34.49%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that UL Solutions will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UL Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. UL Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.14%.

UL Solutions Company Profile

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.