Aristotle Capital Management, LLC, an investment management company, released its “Core Equity Fund” first-quarter 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. During the first quarter, the U.S. equity market declined, with the S&P 500 Index falling by 4.33%. The fixed-income sector also saw a downturn; the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index fell by 0.05%. In the quarter, the Fund (Class I-2) posted a total return of -4.45%, compared to the S&P 500 Index’s -4.33% return. The Fund’s underperformance in the quarter was driven by the allocation effect, while security selection contributed positively. In this environment, the Fund continues to focus on companies experiencing secular tailwinds or robust product-driven cycles. In addition, please check the Fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.
In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, Aristotle Core Equity Fund highlighted Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) as one of its leading contributors. Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) is a leader in converting edible and inedible bio-nutrients to sustainable natural ingredients. On May 12, 2026, Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) stock closed at $62.26 per share. One-month return of Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) was 6.01%, and its shares gained 78.31% over the past 52 weeks. Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) has a market capitalization of $10.00 billion.
Aristotle Core Equity Fund stated the following regarding Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) contributed to performance in the first quarter, as the stock continued to show momentum ahead of the finalization of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Renewable Volume Obligation (RVO), which came in the final days of March. The RVO was ahead of expectations and bodes well for continued improvement in renewable diesel margins for Darling’s joint-venture Diamond Green Diesel.”
Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 47 hedge fund portfolios held Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) at the end of the fourth quarter, compared to 51 in the previous quarter. In Q1 2026, Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) reported total sales of $1.6 billion compared to $1.4 billion in Q1 2025. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) and shared the list of under-the-radar stocks that are on fire. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2026 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
