Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) Shares Up 4.7%

Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) shares shot up 4.7% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $45.21 and last traded at $45.15. 3,134,323 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 52% from the average session volume of 2,066,884 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.13.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on DAR. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Darling Ingredients from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Darling Ingredients from $66.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Darling Ingredients from $73.00 to $57.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Darling Ingredients from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Darling Ingredients from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darling Ingredients presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.55.

Darling Ingredients Stock Down 1.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 4.20 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.56. The firm has a market cap of $7.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.38 and a beta of 1.29.

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.01). Darling Ingredients had a net margin of 8.46% and a return on equity of 12.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Darling Ingredients Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kurt Stoffel purchased 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $41.62 per share, with a total value of $332,960.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,571 shares in the company, valued at $439,965.02. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darling Ingredients

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DAR. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darling Ingredients by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,008,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,250,000 after buying an additional 226,134 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Darling Ingredients by 106.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 818,468 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,724,000 after buying an additional 422,822 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Darling Ingredients by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 629,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,301,000 after buying an additional 35,290 shares in the last quarter. South Dakota Investment Council grew its holdings in shares of Darling Ingredients by 86.3% during the fourth quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 71,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,587,000 after buying an additional 33,332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Darling Ingredients by 4.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 758,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,619,000 after buying an additional 32,147 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.44% of the company’s stock.

About Darling Ingredients

Darling Ingredients Inc develops, produces, and sells natural ingredients from edible and inedible bio-nutrients in North America, Europe, China, South America, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Feed Ingredients, Food Ingredients, and Fuel Ingredients. It offers ingredients and customized specialty solutions for customers in the pharmaceutical, food, pet food, feed, industrial, fuel, bioenergy, and fertilizer industries.