Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) Stock Sees Heavy Call Option Buying

Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 23,197 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 972% compared to the average volume of 2,164 call options.

Darling Ingredients Stock Performance

Shares of DAR stock opened at $54.92 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.67 billion, a PE ratio of 10.44 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $62.35 and a 200-day moving average of $58.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Darling Ingredients has a one year low of $31.48 and a one year high of $69.98.

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.70 by ($0.03). Darling Ingredients had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 17.76%. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.12 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Darling Ingredients will post 7.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Patrick McNutt sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.09, for a total value of $536,720.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,400,278.93. The trade was a 18.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Joseph Manzi sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.27, for a total value of $67,270.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 18,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,276,044.63. This trade represents a 5.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,591 shares of company stock worth $704,303. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darling Ingredients

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DAR. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Darling Ingredients during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $851,450,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Darling Ingredients by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,066,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $498,927,000 after acquiring an additional 47,565 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Darling Ingredients in the second quarter valued at approximately $168,348,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Darling Ingredients in the second quarter valued at approximately $129,371,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Darling Ingredients by 5.8% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,212,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,854,000 after purchasing an additional 120,674 shares in the last quarter. 94.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DAR has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Darling Ingredients to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Darling Ingredients from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Darling Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Barclays boosted 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 report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Darling Ingredients from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darling Ingredients currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.80.

Darling Ingredients Company Profile

Darling Ingredients Inc (NYSE: DAR) is a global developer and producer of sustainable ingredients and renewable energy solutions. The company collects and transforms animal by-products, used cooking oil, food waste and other organic materials into value-added products, helping divert waste from landfills and recover materials for reuse.

Its products include fats, proteins, meals, collagen, gelatin and specialty ingredients used in animal feed, pet food, food, pharmaceuticals and industrial applications.