Short Interest in UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS) Expands By 79.6%

UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,640,000 shares, a growth of 79.6% from the March 15th total of 1,470,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 695,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days. Currently, 4.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ULS shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of UL Solutions from $60.00 to $60.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of UL Solutions from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on UL Solutions from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UL Solutions currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UL Solutions news, EVP Alberto Uggetti sold 1,938 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total transaction of $102,714.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,285 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $492,105. This represents a 17.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UL Solutions

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ULS. Quarry LP purchased a new position in UL Solutions during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in UL Solutions by 653.9% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 671 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers purchased a new stake in UL Solutions in the 1st quarter worth $49,000. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. raised its position in UL Solutions by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 2,100 shares of the company's stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV purchased a new position in UL Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at $163,000.

UL Solutions Trading Down 4.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ULS traded down $2.57 during trading on Monday, reaching $53.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 205,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 700,727. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.63 billion and a PE ratio of 32.78. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $54.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.84. UL Solutions has a 12 month low of $33.50 and a 12 month high of $59.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.11. UL Solutions had a return on equity of 44.52% and a net margin of 11.36%. The company had revenue of $739.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $726.54 million. On average, research analysts predict that UL Solutions will post 1.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UL Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. This is an increase from UL Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. UL Solutions's payout ratio is 32.10%.

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.