Contrasting UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS) & CBIZ (NYSE:CBZ)

CBIZ (NYSE:CBZ) and UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares CBIZ and UL Solutions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CBIZ	4.73%	12.33%	5.02%
UL Solutions	16.02%	28.81%	13.25%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares CBIZ and UL Solutions”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CBIZ	$2.76 billion	1.07	$115.44 million	$2.14	25.45
UL Solutions	$3.05 billion	5.09	$325.00 million	$2.47	31.20

UL Solutions has higher revenue and earnings than CBIZ. CBIZ is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than UL Solutions, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for CBIZ and UL Solutions, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CBIZ	0	5	3	0	2.38
UL Solutions	0	5	6	0	2.55

CBIZ currently has a consensus price target of $44.50, indicating a potential downside of 18.31%. UL Solutions has a consensus price target of $96.78, indicating a potential upside of 25.60%. Given UL Solutions’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe UL Solutions is more favorable than CBIZ.

Risk & Volatility

CBIZ has a beta of 0.93, meaning that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, UL Solutions has a beta of 0.71, meaning that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

87.4% of CBIZ shares are held by institutional investors. 4.1% of CBIZ shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of UL Solutions shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

UL Solutions beats CBIZ on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CBIZ

CBIZ, Inc. provides financial, insurance, and advisory services in the United States and Canada. It operates through Financial Services, Benefits and Insurance Services, and National Practices segments. The Financial Services segment offers accounting and tax, financial advisory, valuation, risk and advisory, and government healthcare consulting services. The Benefits and Insurance Services provides employee benefits consulting, payroll/human capital management, property and casualty insurance, and retirement and investment services. The National Practices segment offers information technology managed networking and hardware, and health care consulting services. The company primarily serves small and medium-sized businesses, as well as individuals, governmental entities, and not-for-profit enterprises. CBIZ, Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Independence, Ohio.

About UL Solutions

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. The Consumer segment offers safety certification testing, ongoing certification, global market access, testing for connectivity, performance and quality, and critical systems advisory and training services, as well as product market acceptance and risk mitigation services for customers in the consumer products end markets comprising consumer electronics, medical devices, information technologies, appliances, HVAC, lighting, and retail, as well as consumer applications, such as new mobility, smart products, and 5G. The Software and Advisory segment provide software and technical advisory services that enable customers to manage regulatory requirements, deliver supply chain transparency, and operationalize sustainability for regulated industries, including life sciences, supply chain regulations, transparency needs, and new ESG and sustainability requirements. It offers ULTRUS software brand to help customers improve speed to market, sustainability and safety. UL Solutions Inc. was formerly known as UL Inc. and changed its name to UL Solutions Inc. in June 2022. The company was founded in 1894 and is headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois with additional offices in North America, Asia Pacific, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and Middle East. UL Solutions Inc. operates as a subsidiary of ULSE Inc.