Empowered Funds LLC Grows Holdings in Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR)

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) by 14.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,828 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,126 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Darling Ingredients were worth $297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of DAR. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in Darling Ingredients by 157.1% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 721 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Darling Ingredients by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 856,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,866,000 after purchasing an additional 44,378 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in shares of Darling Ingredients by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 53,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,786,000 after acquiring an additional 10,700 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Darling Ingredients during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Darling Ingredients by 180.2% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 64,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,181,000 after acquiring an additional 41,637 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DAR. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Darling Ingredients from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Darling Ingredients in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Darling Ingredients from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Darling Ingredients from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darling Ingredients currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.22.

Darling Ingredients Stock Performance

Shares of Darling Ingredients stock opened at $39.57 on Friday. Darling Ingredients Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.55 and a 52 week high of $48.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $36.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.87 and a beta of 1.21.

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 6.04% and a net margin of 4.88%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Darling Ingredients Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Darling Ingredients 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.