Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Darling Ingredients from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Darling Ingredients from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of 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 upgraded shares of Darling Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Darling Ingredients from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Darling Ingredients currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.91.

Darling Ingredients Price Performance

DAR stock opened at $60.32 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.52 billion, a PE ratio of 16.26 and a beta of 1.02. Darling Ingredients has a 1 year low of $29.15 and a 1 year high of $69.98.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Joseph Manzi sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 18,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,276,044.63. This represents a 5.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick McNutt sold 8,000 shares of the company’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 transaction of $536,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,400,278.93. This represents a 18.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 10,591 shares of company stock worth $704,303 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DAR. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in Darling Ingredients by 69.9% during the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 423 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Darling Ingredients during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darling Ingredients in the 1st quarter valued at about $47,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Darling Ingredients by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in Darling Ingredients in the second quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.44% of the company’s stock.

About Darling Ingredients

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

Its products include rendered fats and proteins, specialty feed ingredients, fertilizer inputs, collagen and gelatin, and bioenergy feedstocks. Through its renewable diesel operations, including the Diamond Green Diesel joint venture, Darling also converts low-carbon waste fats and oils into renewable fuel.

Founded in 1882, Darling Ingredients has grown from a U.S.