Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Darling Ingredients (NYSE: DAR) from "buy" to "strong-buy", and the stock retains an overall analyst consensus of "Buy" with a $67.40 average price target after multiple firms raised their targets.
• Darling topped Q1 expectations with $0.83 EPS (vs. ~$0.56 consensus), swung to net income of $134.3M year-over-year, and management guided Q2 core ingredients EBITDA of $260–$275M, indicating a near-term profitability recovery.
• Negative catalysts include a fatal incident at the Bastrop rendering plant that prompted an OSHA probe (potential fines or disruption) and recent insider share sales, which may weigh on investor sentiment despite the operational beat.

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on DAR. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Darling Ingredients from $64.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Zacks Research raised Darling Ingredients from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Darling Ingredients from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Darling Ingredients from $49.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Darling Ingredients from $58.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.40.

Darling Ingredients Stock Down 0.6%

DAR opened at $63.82 on Friday. Darling Ingredients has a one year low of $29.15 and a one year high of $64.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 4.64. The stock's fifty day moving average is $57.96 and its 200-day moving average is $44.93. The company has a market capitalization of $10.13 billion, a PE ratio of 163.64 and a beta of 1.07.

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.27. Darling Ingredients had a return on equity of 5.76% and a net margin of 3.54%.The company had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.16) EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Darling Ingredients will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Joseph Manzi sold 3,000 shares of Darling Ingredients stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.89, for a total value of $191,670.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 19,969 shares in the company, valued at $1,275,819.41. The trade was a 13.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Randall C. Stuewe sold 20,000 shares of Darling Ingredients stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.12, for a total value of $1,042,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,117,085 shares in the company, valued at $58,222,470.20. This represents a 1.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DAR. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Darling Ingredients by 17.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 644,022 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,119,000 after buying an additional 93,408 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darling Ingredients by 10.9% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 600,777 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,768,000 after buying an additional 58,925 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new position in shares of Darling Ingredients during the first quarter valued at $205,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of Darling Ingredients by 11.2% during the second quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 8,384 shares of the company's stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 847 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Darling Ingredients by 5.0% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 677,528 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,705,000 after buying an additional 32,553 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.44% of the company's stock.

Key Darling Ingredients News

Here are the key news stories impacting Darling Ingredients this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 earnings beat and profitability turnaround — DAR reported $0.83 EPS vs. consensus ~$0.58 and swung to net income of $134.3M from a loss a year ago, highlighting margin recovery and operational leverage. Business Wire: Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Q2 core ingredients EBITDA guide supports near-term cash generation — management expects core ingredients EBITDA of $260M–$275M for Q2, giving investors a clearer earnings runway despite renewable margin pressure from RVO shifts. MSN: Q2 EBITDA Guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue roughly in line — Q1 sales were about $1.55B vs. ~$1.56B consensus (YoY +12%), so top-line growth is modestly positive but not a surprise. Yahoo Finance: Sales In Line
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/coverage notes and investor materials released — earnings call transcript and slide deck are available for detail on segment performance, useful for reassessing estimates. Seeking Alpha: Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Fatal incident and OSHA probe at Bastrop rendering plant — a worker death prompted an OSHA investigation and negative publicity that could lead to fines, operational disruption or higher compliance costs. This likely weighed on sentiment despite the beat. Hoodline: OSHA Probe
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale by CAO — Joseph Manzi sold 3,000 shares (~13% reduction in his holding), a small but visible insider sale disclosed to the SEC that can be read negatively by some investors. SEC: Insider Filing

About Darling Ingredients

Darling Ingredients Inc NYSE: DAR is a global leader in converting edible and inedible bio-nutrient streams into sustainable food, feed ingredients, renewable fuels and specialty products. Founded in 1882 and headquartered in Irving, Texas, the company builds on more than a century of experience in animal rendering and by-product recycling. Over time, Darling has expanded its capabilities beyond traditional rendering to include advanced processing technologies that support a circular economy and reduce waste from food and agricultural industries.

The company's core operations revolve around four primary segments: Feed Ingredients & Services, Food & Nutrition, Fuel Ingredients & Services, and Specialty Ingredients.

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