Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 708,035 Shares of Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) by 266.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 973,556 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 708,035 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Darling Ingredients were worth $32,799,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on DAR. Citigroup decreased their target price on Darling Ingredients from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com lowered Darling Ingredients from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Darling Ingredients from $43.00 to $37.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, 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. One investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darling Ingredients presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.00.

Darling Ingredients Stock Performance

NYSE:DAR opened at $29.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.41. Darling Ingredients Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.20 and a fifty-two week high of $48.39. The company has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $34.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.32.

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Darling Ingredients Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal 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.