Davis Selected Advisers Boosts Stake in Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR)

Key Points

• Davis Selected Advisers increased its stake in Darling Ingredients Inc. by 4.1%, owning 2,476,469 shares valued at approximately $77.37 million as of the latest reporting period.
• Several other large investors also boosted their holdings in Darling Ingredients during the 1st quarter, indicating strong institutional interest in the company, which now has 94.44% of its stock owned by institutional investors.
• Analysts have mixed sentiments on the stock, with a current consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target slightly under $46, reflecting varied expectations for the stock's performance.

Davis Selected Advisers boosted its position in Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,476,469 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 98,221 shares during the period. Davis Selected Advisers owned about 1.57% of Darling Ingredients worth $77,365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Darling Ingredients in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Darling Ingredients in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Darling Ingredients by 33.3% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Darling Ingredients by 207.1% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,036 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 1,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Darling Ingredients by 101.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,063 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares in the last quarter. 94.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DAR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Baird R W downgraded Darling Ingredients from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Darling Ingredients from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Darling Ingredients from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded Darling Ingredients from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $45.86.

Darling Ingredients Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:DAR traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $30.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,707,422 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,251,698. The firm has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.41 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Darling Ingredients Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.00 and a 1 year high of $43.49. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $35.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.02.

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. Darling Ingredients had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 2.35%. Darling Ingredients's revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Darling Ingredients Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

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.