Darling Ingredients Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:DAR)

Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders purchased 12,075 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 373% compared to the typical volume of 2,553 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darling Ingredients news, CEO Randall C. Stuewe sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.12, for a total transaction of $1,042,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,117,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,222,470.20. This trade represents a 1.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Darling Ingredients

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Darling Ingredients by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in Darling Ingredients by 0.6% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 48,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,508,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. increased its stake in Darling Ingredients by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 24,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $875,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA boosted its stake in shares of Darling Ingredients by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 20,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $731,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Darling Ingredients by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DAR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $61.00 target price on shares of Darling Ingredients in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 target price on shares of Darling Ingredients in a report on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Darling Ingredients from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $64.00 target price on shares of Darling Ingredients in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Darling Ingredients from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Darling Ingredients presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.60.

Darling Ingredients Stock Performance

NYSE:DAR traded up $2.12 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $57.33. 1,239,825 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,674,011. The company has a 50-day moving average of $47.59 and a 200 day moving average of $38.48. Darling Ingredients has a 1-year low of $26.00 and a 1-year high of $57.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 146.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.24.

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Darling Ingredients had a return on equity of 2.36% and a net margin of 1.02%.The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter. Research analysts anticipate that Darling Ingredients will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

About Darling Ingredients

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.