Darling Ingredients Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:DAR)

Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 25,231 call options on the company. This is an increase of 1,920% compared to the average daily volume of 1,249 call options.

Darling Ingredients Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DAR traded up $1.02 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $32.26. The company had a trading volume of 2,033,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,243,909. Darling Ingredients has a 1 year low of $27.20 and a 1 year high of $48.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $34.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.61 and a beta of 1.25.

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. Darling Ingredients had a net margin of 4.88% and a return on equity of 6.04%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Darling Ingredients will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darling Ingredients

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Darling Ingredients by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,567,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $524,486,000 after acquiring an additional 203,921 shares during the last quarter. Gates Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Darling Ingredients by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Gates Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,668,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,660,000 after purchasing an additional 682,529 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Darling Ingredients by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,453,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,425,000 after purchasing an additional 791,157 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Darling Ingredients by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,357,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,096,000 after buying an additional 289,407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darling Ingredients by 148.9% in the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 4,393,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,005,000 after buying an additional 2,627,785 shares during the last quarter. 94.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.