Versor Investments LP Acquires New Position in Darling Ingredients Inc. $DAR

Key Points

• Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in Darling Ingredients Inc., purchasing 44,900 shares valued at approximately $1,403,000 during the 1st quarter.
• Analysts have mixed views on Darling Ingredients, with Jefferies Financial Group increasing their price target to $46.00 while Baird R W downgraded the stock from "strong-buy" to "hold."
• Darling Ingredients reported $0.09 EPS for the last quarter, missing analysts' expectations, with quarterly revenue of $1.48 billion, slightly below the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion.

Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 44,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,403,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darling Ingredients in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Darling Ingredients in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Darling Ingredients by 33.3% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Darling Ingredients by 207.1% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,036 shares of the company's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 1,373 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Darling Ingredients by 101.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,063 shares of the company's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038 shares during the period. 94.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Darling Ingredients in a research note on Wednesday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Baird R W cut Darling Ingredients from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Darling Ingredients from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Darling Ingredients from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $36.00 price objective (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Darling Ingredients in a report on Friday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.57.

Darling Ingredients Stock Up 9.3%

Shares of NYSE:DAR traded up $2.9580 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $34.7780. 5,291,896 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,370,254. Darling Ingredients Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.00 and a twelve month high of $43.49. 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 has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a PE ratio of 52.69 and a beta of 1.19. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $35.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.72.

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR - Get Free Report) last issued 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). 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 analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Darling Ingredients Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darling Ingredients news, CEO Randall C. Stuewe sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.