Southernsun Asset Management LLC Trims Stake in Darling Ingredients Inc. $DAR

Key Points

• Southernsun Asset Management cut its Darling Ingredients stake by 31.3% in Q1, selling 354,737 shares and leaving it with 780,110 shares worth about $48.25 million. Darling remains the fund’s largest holding, at roughly 7% of its portfolio.
• Darling Ingredients’ latest quarter topped earnings expectations, reporting $0.83 EPS versus $0.56 expected, while revenue rose 12.3% year over year to $1.55 billion. The company also guided analysts to expect $4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• Wall Street sentiment is broadly positive, with multiple analysts raising price targets and ratings; the stock’s consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $67.82. Meanwhile, insider CAO Joseph Manzi sold 3,000 shares in May.

Southernsun Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR - Free Report) by 31.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 780,110 shares of the company's stock after selling 354,737 shares during the quarter. Darling Ingredients makes up about 7.0% of Southernsun Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Southernsun Asset Management LLC owned about 0.49% of Darling Ingredients worth $48,250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DAR. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Darling Ingredients in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Darling Ingredients by 227.2% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 733 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in Darling Ingredients by 69.9% during the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 423 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Darling Ingredients during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in Darling Ingredients in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 94.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darling Ingredients Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of DAR stock opened at $63.97 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.35 and a beta of 1.04. Darling Ingredients Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $29.15 and a fifty-two week high of $66.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.27. Darling Ingredients had a net margin of 3.54% and a return on equity of 5.65%. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.16) earnings per share. Darling Ingredients's revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Darling Ingredients Inc. will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on DAR. Zacks Research upgraded Darling Ingredients from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. UBS Group raised their price target on Darling Ingredients from $58.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Darling Ingredients from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Darling Ingredients from $61.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Darling Ingredients from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darling Ingredients has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Joseph Manzi sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.89, for a total transaction of $191,670.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 19,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,275,819.41. This trade represents a 13.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Darling Ingredients Profile

Darling Ingredients Inc NYSE: DAR is a global leader in converting edible and inedible bio-nutrient streams into sustainable food, feed ingredients, renewable fuels and specialty products. Founded in 1882 and headquartered in Irving, Texas, the company builds on more than a century of experience in animal rendering and by-product recycling. Over time, Darling has expanded its capabilities beyond traditional rendering to include advanced processing technologies that support a circular economy and reduce waste from food and agricultural industries.

The company's core operations revolve around four primary segments: Feed Ingredients & Services, Food & Nutrition, Fuel Ingredients & Services, and Specialty Ingredients.

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