American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 900,461 Shares of Darling Ingredients Inc. $DAR

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Darling Ingredients by 155.5%, owning a total of 1,479,369 shares worth approximately $46.2 million after purchasing an additional 900,461 shares.
• Darling Ingredients reported a quarterly EPS of $0.09, missing analysts' expectations, and had a revenue of $1.48 billion, slightly below the $1.49 billion consensus estimate.
• Insiders, including CEO Randall C. Stuewe, have recently seen significant trading activity, with Stuewe selling 35,000 shares valued at around $1.08 million, reducing his ownership by 4.29%.

American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR - Free Report) by 155.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,479,369 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 900,461 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.94% of Darling Ingredients worth $46,215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of DAR. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Darling Ingredients by 15.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,480,803 shares of the company's stock valued at $233,701,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026,958 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Darling Ingredients by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 370,316 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,459,000 after acquiring an additional 1,055 shares in the last quarter. S Bank Fund Management Ltd bought a new position in Darling Ingredients during the first quarter worth $3,267,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Darling Ingredients by 9.9% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 653,959 shares of the company's stock worth $20,539,000 after purchasing an additional 58,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Darling Ingredients during the first quarter valued at $11,546,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.44% of the company's stock.

Darling Ingredients Price Performance

Shares of DAR traded up $0.9380 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $35.7580. 559,874 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,358,844. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a PE ratio of 54.07 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.66. Darling Ingredients Inc. has a one year low of $26.00 and a one year high of $43.49.

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.03). Darling Ingredients had a return on equity of 2.35% and a net margin of 1.85%.The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Darling Ingredients Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on DAR. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $36.00 price target (down from $40.00) on shares of Darling Ingredients in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Darling Ingredients from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Baird R W lowered Darling Ingredients from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Darling Ingredients in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darling Ingredients currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.57.

Insider Activity

In other Darling Ingredients news, CEO Randall C. Stuewe sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.92, for a total value of $1,082,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 781,437 shares in the company, valued at $24,162,032.04. The trade was a 4.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.62% of the company's stock.

Darling Ingredients Company Profile

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.