Darling Ingredients Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:DAR)

Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 25,231 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,920% compared to the average daily volume of 1,249 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on DAR. Citigroup reduced their target price on Darling Ingredients from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Darling Ingredients in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Darling Ingredients from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darling Ingredients currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of Darling Ingredients by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 8,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Darling Ingredients by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC now owns 41,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,414,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Darling Ingredients by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darling Ingredients by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 9,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Darling Ingredients by 5.7% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 7,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.44% of the company’s stock.

Darling Ingredients Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of DAR traded up $1.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $32.26. The stock had a trading volume of 2,033,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,243,909. Darling Ingredients has a 1-year low of $27.20 and a 1-year high of $48.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.61 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.15. Darling Ingredients had a return on equity of 6.04% and a net margin of 4.88%. Sell-side analysts predict that Darling Ingredients will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darling Ingredients Company Profile

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.