Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) Trading 6% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) rose 6% during mid-day trading on Friday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from $44.00 to $46.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Darling Ingredients traded as high as $40.04 and last traded at $40.03. Approximately 195,781 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 2,153,902 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.76.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Darling Ingredients from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 13th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Darling Ingredients from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Darling Ingredients from $57.00 to $45.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.90.

Insider Transactions at Darling Ingredients

In related news, EVP Robert W. Day purchased 2,532 shares of Darling Ingredients stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $39.37 per share, with a total value of $99,684.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $496,337.59. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Darling Ingredients

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DAR. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Darling Ingredients by 173.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Darling Ingredients by 75.0% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Darling Ingredients by 38.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its position in Darling Ingredients by 893.8% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Darling Ingredients in the second quarter valued at $140,000. 94.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darling Ingredients Stock Up 3.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $37.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.94. The firm has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 1.24.

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.29). Darling Ingredients had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 6.04%. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Darling Ingredients Inc. will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.