Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $58.43 and last traded at $58.74, with a volume of 403203 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on DAR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Darling Ingredients from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $64.00 price objective on Darling Ingredients in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Darling Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Zacks Research downgraded Darling Ingredients from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 target price on shares of Darling Ingredients in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.60.

Darling Ingredients Stock Up 4.5%

The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $9.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 151.08, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $49.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.31.

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter. Darling Ingredients had a return on equity of 2.36% and a net margin of 1.02%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Darling Ingredients Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Darling Ingredients

In other Darling Ingredients news, CEO Randall C. Stuewe sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.12, for a total value of $1,042,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,117,085 shares in the company, valued at $58,222,470.20. This trade represents a 1.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Darling Ingredients in the fourth quarter valued at about $94,211,000. No Street GP LP acquired a new position in Darling Ingredients in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $69,458,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Darling Ingredients by 973.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,502,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,989,000 after acquiring an additional 1,362,137 shares in the last quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of Darling Ingredients by 66.0% in the 2nd quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 3,323,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,092,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320,817 shares during the period. Finally, Harspring Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darling Ingredients during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,680,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.44% of the company’s stock.

Darling Ingredients Company Profile

Darling Ingredients Inc (NYSE: DAR) is a global leader in converting edible and inedible bio-nutrient streams into sustainable food, feed ingredients, renewable fuels and specialty products. Founded in 1882 and headquartered in Irving, Texas, the company builds on more than a century of experience in animal rendering and by-product recycling. Over time, Darling has expanded its capabilities beyond traditional rendering to include advanced processing technologies that support a circular economy and reduce waste from food and agricultural industries.

The company’s core operations revolve around four primary segments: Feed Ingredients & Services, Food & Nutrition, Fuel Ingredients & Services, and Specialty Ingredients.