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

Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors purchased 12,075 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 373% compared to the average volume of 2,553 call options.

Darling Ingredients Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of DAR stock opened at $56.95 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 146.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.24. Darling Ingredients has a 12-month low of $26.00 and a 12-month high of $57.71. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $47.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.64.

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

Insider Activity at Darling Ingredients

In other news, CEO Randall C. Stuewe sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.12, for a total transaction of $1,042,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,117,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,222,470.20. The trade was a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Darling Ingredients by 64.1% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 14,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 5,847 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Darling Ingredients by 32.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 964,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,720,000 after purchasing an additional 238,138 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Darling Ingredients by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 53,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,920,000 after buying an additional 5,665 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darling Ingredients in the 4th quarter worth $431,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Darling Ingredients by 63.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,044,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,600,000 after buying an additional 405,839 shares during the last quarter. 94.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DAR has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Darling Ingredients from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Darling Ingredients in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $64.00 price target on Darling Ingredients in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research lowered Darling Ingredients from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Darling Ingredients from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.60.

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.