Gates Capital Management Inc. Grows Stake in Darling Ingredients Inc. $DAR

Key Points

• Gates Capital Management Inc. has increased its stake in Darling Ingredients Inc. by 18.7%, now owning 7,915,560 shares, making it the firm's largest position at 4.9% of its portfolio.
• For the most recent quarter, Darling Ingredients reported a net revenue of $1.48 billion, slightly missing expectations, with an adjusted EPS of $0.09, below the expected $0.12.
• The company has received various analyst ratings, with an average consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $43.57.

Gates Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR - Free Report) by 18.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,915,560 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,247,117 shares during the quarter. Darling Ingredients makes up approximately 4.9% of Gates Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Gates Capital Management Inc. owned about 5.00% of Darling Ingredients worth $247,282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in Darling Ingredients during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,124,000. Harber Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darling Ingredients by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Harber Asset Management LLC now owns 258,567 shares of the company's stock worth $8,078,000 after acquiring an additional 24,354 shares in the last quarter. Goodlander Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Darling Ingredients during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $7,185,000. Magnetar Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Darling Ingredients by 112.1% in the 1st quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 182,785 shares of the company's stock worth $5,710,000 after acquiring an additional 96,620 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Darling Ingredients during the 1st quarter worth approximately $333,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.44% of the company's stock.

Darling Ingredients Price Performance

Shares of DAR traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $31.84. The stock had a trading volume of 674,912 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,358,214. Darling Ingredients Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.00 and a 12 month high of $43.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a PE ratio of 48.32 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.50. The company's 50-day moving average is $34.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.34.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Randall C. Stuewe sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 781,437 shares in the company, valued at $24,162,032.04. This represents 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 this hyperlink. 2.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Darling Ingredients from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Baird R W lowered Darling Ingredients from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Darling Ingredients in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $36.00 target price (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Darling Ingredients in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised Darling Ingredients from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.57.

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.