Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) Stock Rating Raised to Strong-Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on DAR. Barclays boosted their price target on Darling Ingredients from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Darling Ingredients from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Darling Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Darling Ingredients from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Darling Ingredients from $78.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darling Ingredients presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.91.

Darling Ingredients Stock Down 0.4%

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

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

Insider Activity

In other Darling Ingredients news, EVP Patrick McNutt sold 8,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,400,278.93. This represents a 18.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles L. Adair bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $60.97 per share, for a total transaction of $60,970.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 51,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,591 shares of company stock worth $704,303. 1.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darling Ingredients

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in shares of Darling Ingredients by 69.9% in the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 423 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darling Ingredients in the 1st quarter worth $47,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Darling Ingredients in the second quarter valued at about $53,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darling Ingredients in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Darling Ingredients by 35.0% during the first quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. 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.