Eleven brokerage firms covering Darling Ingredients have assigned the stock an average recommendation of Moderate Buy. Of these, one firm rates the shares a Sell, two rate them Hold, seven rate them Buy and one assigns a Strong Buy. The consensus 12-month price target across all analysts stands at $45.63, reflecting a roughly 8% upside from recent levels. Since October, Jefferies Financial Group has increased its target from $44.00 to $50.00 and maintained a Buy rating on January 12; JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its objective from $44.00 to $46.00 with an Overweight call on January 21; TD Cowen upgraded to Buy on December 2; and Bank of America initiated coverage on October 8 with a $45.00 target and Buy recommendation. Zacks Research, by contrast, reduced its stance from Strong Buy to Hold on January 16.

Darling Ingredients continues to attract attention from institutional investors, who now hold 94.44% of the outstanding shares. In the fourth quarter, Simplicity Wealth LLC established a new position valued at approximately $259,000, while Torren Management LLC added roughly $50,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake by 44.9%, acquiring 1,495 additional shares to hold 4,828 shares worth $174,000. M&T Bank Corp more than doubled its position, adding 6,406 shares for a total of 13,247 shares valued at $477,000. Vanguard Group Inc. further increased its holding by 3.4%, purchasing 512,219 shares to reach 15.39 million shares, representing $554.2 million in market value.

Darling Ingredients reported fourth quarter revenue of $1.40 billion and earnings per share of $0.35, missing consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.04. Return on equity stood at 2.39% and net margin at 1.84%, compared with prior-year profitability metrics. Management’s guidance for the fiscal year anticipates full-year earnings of $2.81 per share. Balance sheet ratios at quarter end include a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.49, underlining moderate leverage and adequate near-term liquidity.

Darling Ingredients’ 50/50 renewable diesel joint venture, Diamond Green Diesel, delivered operating income of $92 million in the fourth quarter of 2025, offset by a $24 million lower-of-cost-or-market inventory adjustment. On a stand-alone basis, the JV realized net income of $55 million and shipped 285.3 million gallons of renewable fuels, generating adjusted EBITDA of $115.8 million. Darling’s share of adjusted EBITDA amounted to $57.9 million, or $0.41 per gallon. For the full year, the JV sold 1.003 billion gallons, recorded a net loss of $68 million and produced $207.4 million of adjusted EBITDA after discounts, with Darling’s attributable amount totaling $103.7 million.