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

UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $79.38, but opened at $76.06. UL Solutions shares last traded at $77.32, with a volume of 2,665,701 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ULS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price target (up from $70.00) on shares of UL Solutions in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of UL Solutions from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of UL Solutions from $75.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of UL Solutions in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on UL Solutions from $77.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.71.

UL Solutions Trading Down 0.2%

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.38 billion, a PE ratio of 45.86 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.09. The firm 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 revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that UL Solutions Inc. will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UL Solutions Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of UL Solutions

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cresset Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in UL Solutions in the first quarter valued at about $226,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of UL Solutions by 26.8% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 232,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,138,000 after acquiring an additional 49,222 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UL Solutions by 122.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 34,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,535,000 after acquiring an additional 19,172 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of UL Solutions by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 555,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,450,000 after purchasing an additional 4,839 shares during the period. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its position in shares of UL Solutions by 26.4% during the 2nd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 13,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 2,884 shares during the period.

UL Solutions Company Profile

UL Solutions Inc provides safety science services worldwide. It operates through three segments: Industrial, Consumer, and Software and Advisory. The Industrial segment provides testing, inspection, and certification services across various end markets, including energy, industrial automation, engineered materials, and built environment, as well as stakeholders, such as manufacturers, building owners, end users, and regulators.