HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 9,344 Shares of Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR)

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) by 30.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 20,945 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,344 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Darling Ingredients were worth $706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DAR. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darling Ingredients in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in shares of Darling Ingredients by 157.1% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 721 shares during the period. Palouse Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Darling Ingredients during the 4th quarter worth approximately $86,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Darling Ingredients by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 3,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 712 shares during the period. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in Darling Ingredients during the 4th quarter worth about $145,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on DAR. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $52.00 price target on shares of Darling Ingredients in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on 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, StockNews.com lowered shares of Darling Ingredients from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darling Ingredients presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.75.

Darling Ingredients Stock Performance

NYSE:DAR opened at $31.58 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.43. Darling Ingredients Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.20 and a twelve month 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.99 billion, a PE ratio of 18.25 and a beta of 1.25.

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

About Darling Ingredients

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.