AQR Capital Management LLC Purchases 537,356 Shares of Darling Ingredients Inc. $DAR

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR - Free Report) by 548.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 635,351 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 537,356 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.40% of Darling Ingredients worth $19,588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Darling Ingredients during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in Darling Ingredients during the first quarter worth $30,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Darling Ingredients by 33.3% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Darling Ingredients by 207.1% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,036 shares of the company's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 1,373 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Darling Ingredients by 101.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,063 shares of the company's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 1,038 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on DAR. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Darling Ingredients from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Darling Ingredients in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Baird R W cut shares of Darling Ingredients from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Darling Ingredients from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $36.00 price target (down from $40.00) on shares of Darling Ingredients in a report on Friday, July 25th. One research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darling Ingredients has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.57.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Randall C. Stuewe sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.92, for a total value of $1,082,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 781,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,162,032.04. The trade was a 4.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Darling Ingredients Stock Down 2.6%

DAR opened at $31.22 on Tuesday. 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's 50-day moving average is $34.06 and its 200 day moving average is $33.14. Darling Ingredients Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.00 and a fifty-two week high of $43.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.30 and a beta of 1.16.

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion for 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Darling Ingredients Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darling Ingredients 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.

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