UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS) Short Interest Down 34.3% in December

UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,110,000 shares, a decrease of 34.3% from the November 30th total of 1,690,000 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 701,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Gitte Schjotz sold 5,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.58, for a total transaction of $312,377.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 69,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,638,062.78. The trade was a 7.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of UL Solutions by 29.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,516,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,851 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in UL Solutions by 55.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 600,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,639,000 after buying an additional 213,635 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of UL Solutions during the third quarter valued at about $395,000. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of UL Solutions by 15.5% in the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 7,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 1,035 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP boosted its position in shares of UL Solutions by 136.7% in the third quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 710,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,003,000 after acquiring an additional 410,000 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on ULS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on UL Solutions from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of UL Solutions from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of UL Solutions in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of UL Solutions from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on UL Solutions from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

UL Solutions Price Performance

NYSE ULS traded down $0.71 on Friday, reaching $50.41. The company had a trading volume of 976,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 728,973. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company’s fifty day moving average is $51.99 and its 200 day moving average is $49.45. UL Solutions has a 52-week low of $33.15 and a 52-week high of $59.23.

UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $731.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $709.41 million. UL Solutions had a return on equity of 40.88% and a net margin of 10.76%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that UL Solutions will post 1.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UL Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%.

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.