Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) gapped up prior to trading on Monday after Weiss Ratings upgraded the stock from a hold (c+) rating to a buy (b-) rating. The stock had previously closed at $60.26, but opened at $62.21. Darling Ingredients shares last traded at $61.6160, with a volume of 92,332 shares changing hands.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on DAR. Wall Street Zen upgraded Darling Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Darling Ingredients from $78.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Barclays increased 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 note on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Darling Ingredients from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Darling Ingredients to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darling Ingredients currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darling Ingredients news, EVP Patrick McNutt sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.09, for a total value of $536,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 35,777 shares in the company, valued at $2,400,278.93. This represents a 18.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles L. Adair purchased 1,000 shares of Darling Ingredients stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $60.97 per share, with a total value of $60,970.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 51,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,151,539.30. This represents a 1.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 10,591 shares of company stock valued at $704,303 in the last 90 days. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DAR. Krilogy Financial LLC raised its stake in Darling Ingredients by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 6,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $407,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its holdings in Darling Ingredients by 101.7% during the third quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 11,813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $735,000 after purchasing an additional 5,955 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd lifted its holdings in Darling Ingredients by 19.7% during the third quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 5,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares in the last quarter. GK Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Darling Ingredients in the third quarter worth approximately $100,000. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital bought a new position in shares of Darling Ingredients in the third quarter worth approximately $206,000. 94.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Darling Ingredients Trading Up 3.3%

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.19. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $9.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.27 and a beta of 1.04.

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $1.01. Darling Ingredients had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 12.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.08 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Darling Ingredients Inc. will post 7.05 EPS for the current year.

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.