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

Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 3,016 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 141% compared to the typical volume of 1,249 put options.

Darling Ingredients Stock Up 2.6 %

DAR opened at $33.10 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.13 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $34.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.39. Darling Ingredients has a 12 month low of $27.20 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.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DAR. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Darling Ingredients in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup cut their price target on Darling Ingredients from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Darling Ingredients from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darling Ingredients currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darling Ingredients

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sycomore Asset Management boosted its holdings in Darling Ingredients by 101.2% during the fourth quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 130,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,743,000 after buying an additional 65,444 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Darling Ingredients by 180.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 104,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,509,000 after acquiring an additional 66,966 shares in the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Darling Ingredients in the 4th quarter worth $735,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Darling Ingredients by 203.2% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,844,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,235,985 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Darling Ingredients during the fourth quarter valued at $13,769,000. 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.