Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 10,000 Shares of Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR)

Van ECK Associates Corp trimmed its stake in Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR - Free Report) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 404,551 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,000 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.25% of Darling Ingredients worth $13,630,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Darling Ingredients in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,323,000. Sycomore Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Darling Ingredients by 101.2% in the fourth quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 130,096 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,743,000 after buying an additional 65,444 shares during the last quarter. Quilter Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Darling Ingredients in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,021,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Darling Ingredients by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,828 shares of the company's stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 1,126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 721 shares during the last quarter. 94.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Darling Ingredients Price Performance

Darling Ingredients stock traded down $3.52 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $38.33. 4,288,764 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,198,152. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.54. Darling Ingredients Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.55 and a 12 month high of $48.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $6.10 billion, a PE ratio of 22.16 and a beta of 1.21.

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.63 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, equities research analysts expect that Darling Ingredients Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Darling Ingredients in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Darling Ingredients from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Darling Ingredients from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $53.22.

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.