Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) Shares Up 5.1% – Still a Buy?

Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR)’s share price was up 5.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $31.73 and last traded at $31.99. Approximately 1,248,261 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 2,265,940 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.45.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on DAR shares. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Darling Ingredients from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Darling Ingredients from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Darling Ingredients in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Darling Ingredients from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Darling Ingredients from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.33.

Darling Ingredients Trading Up 5.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $5.06 billion, a PE ratio of 18.49 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.36). Darling Ingredients had a net margin of 4.88% and a return on equity of 6.04%. The firm had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.45 billion. Analysts predict that Darling Ingredients Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Darling Ingredients

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its position in Darling Ingredients by 148.9% in the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 4,393,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,005,000 after acquiring an additional 2,627,785 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Darling Ingredients during the 4th quarter worth $63,956,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Darling Ingredients by 203.2% during the 4th 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 during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Darling Ingredients by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,453,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,425,000 after purchasing an additional 791,157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Darling Ingredients by 266.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 973,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,799,000 after buying an additional 708,035 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.44% of the company’s stock.

About Darling Ingredients

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.