Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from nine analysts, with five rating it as buy and one as strong buy.
• The average 12-month price target for Darling Ingredients shares is $43.57, despite a recent earnings report where the company missed analysts' expectations for EPS.
• CEO Randall C. Stuewe sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock, reducing his ownership by 4.29%, while institutional investors currently hold 94.44% of the stock.

Shares of Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the nine analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $43.5714.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DAR. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and set a $36.00 price objective (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Darling Ingredients in a research report on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Darling Ingredients in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Darling Ingredients from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Darling Ingredients from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Baird R W lowered Darling Ingredients from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th.

Darling Ingredients Stock Performance

Shares of DAR stock opened at $32.15 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.71 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Darling Ingredients has a 12-month low of $26.00 and a 12-month high of $43.49.

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Darling Ingredients had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 2.35%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Darling Ingredients will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Randall C. Stuewe sold 35,000 shares of Darling Ingredients stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.92, for a total transaction of $1,082,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 781,437 shares in the company, valued at $24,162,032.04. The trade was a 4.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darling Ingredients

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DAR. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Darling Ingredients by 609.8% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 653 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darling Ingredients during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Darling Ingredients by 681.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,016 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Darling Ingredients by 33.3% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Darling Ingredients by 207.1% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,036 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 1,373 shares in the last quarter. 94.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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