Advertisement

Should You Be Adding Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) To Your Watchlist Today?

The excitement of investing in a company that can reverse its fortunes is a big draw for some speculators, so even companies that have no revenue, no profit, and a record of falling short, can manage to find investors. But as Peter Lynch said in One Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.' A loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the inflow of external capital may dry up.

Despite being in the age of tech-stock blue-sky investing, many investors still adopt a more traditional strategy; buying shares in profitable companies like Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR). Now this is not to say that the company presents the best investment opportunity around, but profitability is a key component to success in business.

See our latest analysis for Darling Ingredients

Darling Ingredients' Improving Profits

Darling Ingredients has undergone a massive growth in earnings per share over the last three years. So much so that this three year growth rate wouldn't be a fair assessment of the company's future. So it would be better to isolate the growth rate over the last year for our analysis. To the delight of shareholders, Darling Ingredients' EPS soared from US$3.32 to US$4.60, over the last year. That's a commendable gain of 39%.

One way to double-check a company's growth is to look at how its revenue, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins are changing. Darling Ingredients maintained stable EBIT margins over the last year, all while growing revenue 37% to US$6.1b. That's a real positive.

You can take a look at the company's revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. For finer detail, click on the image.

earnings-and-revenue-history
earnings-and-revenue-history

While we live in the present moment, there's little doubt that the future matters most in the investment decision process. So why not check this interactive chart depicting future EPS estimates, for Darling Ingredients?

Are Darling Ingredients Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

We would not expect to see insiders owning a large percentage of a US$10b company like Darling Ingredients. But we are reassured by the fact they have invested in the company. Indeed, they have a considerable amount of wealth invested in it, currently valued at US$109m. This suggests that leadership will be very mindful of shareholders' interests when making decisions!

It's good to see that insiders are invested in the company, but are remuneration levels reasonable? A brief analysis of the CEO compensation suggests they are. For companies with market capitalisations over US$8.0b, like Darling Ingredients, the median CEO pay is around US$13m.

The Darling Ingredients CEO received US$8.0m in compensation for the year ending January 2022. That comes in below the average for similar sized companies and seems pretty reasonable. While the level of CEO compensation shouldn't be the biggest factor in how the company is viewed, modest remuneration is a positive, because it suggests that the board keeps shareholder interests in mind. It can also be a sign of a culture of integrity, in a broader sense.

Should You Add Darling Ingredients To Your Watchlist?

For growth investors, Darling Ingredients' raw rate of earnings growth is a beacon in the night. If you still have your doubts, remember too that company insiders have a considerable investment aligning themselves with the shareholders and CEO pay is quite modest compared to similarly sized companiess. The overarching message here is that Darling Ingredients has underlying strengths that make it worth a look at. Still, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Darling Ingredients.

The beauty of investing is that you can invest in almost any company you want. But if you prefer to focus on stocks that have demonstrated insider buying, here is a list of companies with insider buying in the last three months.

Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Join A Paid User Research Session
You’ll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here