KBR (NYSE:KBR – Get Free Report) and UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS – Get Free Report) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, profitability, risk and dividends.
Dividends
KBR pays an annual dividend of $0.66 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. UL Solutions pays an annual dividend of $0.58 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. KBR pays out 19.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. UL Solutions pays out 23.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. KBR has increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years. KBR is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for KBR and UL Solutions, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| KBR | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2.38 |
| UL Solutions | 0 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 2.55 |
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares KBR and UL Solutions”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| KBR | $7.79 billion | 0.60 | $415.00 million | $3.32 | 11.07 |
| UL Solutions | $3.15 billion | 4.47 | $325.00 million | $2.47 | 28.20 |
KBR has higher revenue and earnings than UL Solutions. KBR is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than UL Solutions, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
97.0% of KBR shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of KBR shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of UL Solutions shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Risk and Volatility
KBR has a beta of 0.44, meaning that its share price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, UL Solutions has a beta of 0.63, meaning that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares KBR and UL Solutions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| KBR | 5.49% | 32.55% | 7.62% |
| UL Solutions | 16.02% | 28.81% | 13.25% |
Summary
UL Solutions beats KBR on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About KBR
KBR, Inc. provides scientific, technology, and engineering solutions to governments and commercial customers worldwide. It operates through Government Solutions and Sustainable Technology Solutions segments. The Government Solutions segment offers life-cycle support solutions to defense, intelligence, space, aviation, and other programs and missions for military and other government agencies in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Its services cover research and development, advanced prototyping, acquisition support, systems engineering, cyber analytics, space domain awareness, test and evaluation, systems integration and program management, global supply chain management, and operations readiness and support, as well as command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance services. This segment also provides various professional advisory services to the defense, renewable energy, and critical infrastructure sectors. The Sustainable Technology Solutions segment operates portfolio of various proprietary process technologies for ammonia/syngas, chemical/petrochemicals, clean refining, and circular process/circular economy solutions. This segment also provides synergistic services, including advisory and consulting focused on broad-based energy transition and net-zero carbon emission solutions; high-end engineering, design and program management centered around decarbonization, energy efficiency, environmental impact and asset optimization; and digitally-enabled operating and monitoring solutions. KBR, Inc. was founded in 1901 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
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.
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