Brokerages Set Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) Target Price at $69.00

Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $69.00.

Several brokerages have issued reports on DAR. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Darling Ingredients from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Darling Ingredients from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Darling Ingredients from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Darling Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Darling Ingredients from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Nicholas Kemphaus sold 1,591 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 35,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,212,235.35. This represents a 4.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick McNutt sold 8,000 shares of the firm’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 directly owned 35,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,400,278.93. This represents a 18.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,591 shares of company stock worth $704,303. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darling Ingredients

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darling Ingredients during the 2nd quarter worth about $851,450,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Darling Ingredients by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,066,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $498,927,000 after acquiring an additional 47,565 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Darling Ingredients in the 2nd quarter valued at about $168,348,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Darling Ingredients by 72.9% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,091,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,388,000 after acquiring an additional 882,185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Darling Ingredients during the second quarter worth approximately $129,371,000. 94.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Darling Ingredients Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE:DAR opened at $65.40 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $10.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.63 and a beta of 1.02. Darling Ingredients has a twelve month low of $29.15 and a twelve month high of $69.98. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $63.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

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

About Darling Ingredients

Darling Ingredients Inc is a global developer and producer of sustainable ingredients derived from animal by-products, used cooking oil, food waste and other organic materials. The company collects and processes these materials into products used in animal feed, pet food, agriculture, food, fuel and industrial applications.

Its product portfolio includes protein meals, animal fats, feed-grade ingredients, fertilizer nutrients, gelatin and collagen products, and specialty ingredients. Darling also produces renewable diesel and other low-carbon fuels through its Diamond Green Diesel joint venture with Valero Energy, which converts waste fats, oils and greases into renewable fuels.

Founded in 1882, Darling Ingredients serves customers through operations spanning North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.