Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) Stock Price Up 9.9% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Darling Ingredients stock price increased by 9.9% on Thursday, closing at $34.20 after starting the day at a high of $33.94.
• Analysts generally hold a Moderate Buy rating for the stock, with an average target price of $43.25, although some have issued lower price targets.
• In recent transactions, CEO Randall C. Stuewe sold 35,000 shares, representing a 4.29% decrease in his position, while institutional investors control 94.44% of the stock.

Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 9.9% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $33.94 and last traded at $34.20. Approximately 738,928 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 2,387,987 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.12.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on DAR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Darling Ingredients in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Darling Ingredients in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Darling Ingredients from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $42.00 price objective on Darling Ingredients in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Baird R W lowered Darling Ingredients from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.25.

Darling Ingredients Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.99.

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.01). Darling Ingredients had a return on equity of 2.35% and a net margin of 1.85%.The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Darling Ingredients Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darling Ingredients news, CEO Randall C. Stuewe sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were 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 owned 781,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,162,032.04. The trade was a 4.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.62% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DAR. Norges Bank bought a new position in Darling Ingredients in the 2nd quarter valued at about $74,041,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Darling Ingredients by 973.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,502,084 shares of the company's stock worth $56,989,000 after purchasing an additional 1,362,137 shares during the last quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Darling Ingredients by 66.0% in the second quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 3,323,470 shares of the company's stock worth $126,092,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320,817 shares during the last quarter. Gates Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Darling Ingredients by 18.7% during the first quarter. Gates Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,915,560 shares of the company's stock worth $247,282,000 after buying an additional 1,247,117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Darling Ingredients by 15.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,480,803 shares of the company's stock worth $233,701,000 after buying an additional 1,026,958 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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