Wall Street Zen Upgrades Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) to Strong-Buy

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

DAR has been the subject of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Darling Ingredients from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Darling Ingredients from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings raised Darling Ingredients from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Darling Ingredients from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Darling Ingredients from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darling Ingredients has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.00.

Darling Ingredients Price Performance

Shares of DAR opened at $66.86 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.02 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $58.93 and a 200 day moving average of $57.60. Darling Ingredients has a twelve month low of $29.15 and a twelve month high of $67.68.

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $1.01. Darling Ingredients had a return on equity of 12.98% and a net margin of 9.13%.The business had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.08 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Darling Ingredients will post 6.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nicholas James Kemphaus sold 1,591 shares of Darling Ingredients stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.05, for a total value of $100,312.55. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 35,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,212,235.35. The trade was a 4.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Patrick Mcnutt sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.09, for a total value of $536,720.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 35,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,400,278.93. This trade represents a 18.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darling Ingredients

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Darling Ingredients during the second quarter valued at approximately $851,450,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Darling Ingredients during the second quarter valued at approximately $168,348,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Darling Ingredients in the fourth quarter worth approximately $94,211,000. No Street GP LP bought a new position in Darling Ingredients in the third quarter worth approximately $69,458,000. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darling Ingredients during the 2nd quarter worth $118,952,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.44% of the company’s stock.

Darling Ingredients Company 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.