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

Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors bought 3,016 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 141% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,249 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DAR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Darling Ingredients from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Darling Ingredients in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Darling Ingredients from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. One investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.75.

Darling Ingredients Trading Up 3.3 %

DAR opened at $32.28 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 18.66 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50 day moving average of $34.89 and a 200-day moving average of $36.42. Darling Ingredients has a 52 week low of $27.20 and a 52 week high of $48.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.15. Darling Ingredients had a net margin of 4.88% and a return on equity of 6.04%. Equities research analysts predict that Darling Ingredients will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darling Ingredients

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darling Ingredients during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in Darling Ingredients by 157.1% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 721 shares during the last quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Darling Ingredients in the fourth quarter worth $86,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Darling Ingredients by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 3,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 712 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Darling Ingredients in the fourth quarter worth $109,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.44% of the company’s stock.

Darling Ingredients Company Profile

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.