Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) Shares Purchased by DnB Asset Management AS

DnB Asset Management AS boosted its holdings in shares of Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,254,593 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,022 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Darling Ingredients were worth $42,267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DAR. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Darling Ingredients in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,956,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Darling Ingredients in the fourth quarter valued at $884,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Darling Ingredients by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,567,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $524,486,000 after acquiring an additional 203,921 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in Darling Ingredients by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 33,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,115,000 after purchasing an additional 3,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Darling Ingredients in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,088,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.44% of the company’s stock.

Darling Ingredients Price Performance

DAR stock opened at $31.90 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of 18.44 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $35.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.45. Darling Ingredients Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.20 and a 12-month high of $48.39.

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Darling Ingredients Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Darling Ingredients from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Darling Ingredients in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Darling Ingredients from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.75.

About Darling Ingredients

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.