Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) Shares Up 3.7% – Should You Buy?

Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR)’s stock price rose 3.7% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $30.79 and last traded at $30.78. Approximately 252,892 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 2,109,822 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on DAR shares. Citigroup cut their price target on Darling Ingredients from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com lowered Darling Ingredients from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $52.00 price target on shares of Darling Ingredients in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.75.

Darling Ingredients Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.15. Darling Ingredients had a net margin of 4.88% and a return on equity of 6.04%. On average, analysts anticipate that Darling Ingredients Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Darling Ingredients

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in Darling Ingredients by 266.6% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 103,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,860,000 after buying an additional 75,540 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Darling Ingredients during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,545,000. Sycomore Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Darling Ingredients by 101.2% in the fourth quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 130,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,743,000 after acquiring an additional 65,444 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Darling Ingredients by 180.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 104,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,509,000 after acquiring an additional 66,966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Darling Ingredients by 203.2% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,844,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,235,985 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.44% of the company’s stock.

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.