Driven Brands (NASDAQ:DRVN) Shares Up 8.5% – What’s Next?

Driven Brands Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:DRVN)’s stock price traded up 8.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $15.93 and last traded at $15.4630. 240,889 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 799,555 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.25.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRVN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BTIG Research reduced their price objective on Driven Brands from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Zacks Research raised Driven Brands to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Driven Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Driven Brands from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $17.00 to $23.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of Driven Brands in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.33.

Driven Brands Trading Up 8.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a PE ratio of -9.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $16.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.07.

Driven Brands (NASDAQ:DRVN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 12th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $564.12 million for the quarter. Driven Brands had a positive return on equity of 21.17% and a negative net margin of 12.32%. Sell-side analysts expect that Driven Brands Holdings Inc. will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jonathan G. Fitzpatrick sold 110,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.05, for a total value of $1,985,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,279,453 shares in the company, valued at $41,144,126.65. This trade represents a 4.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Driven Brands

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. North Peak Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Driven Brands by 9.0% during the second quarter. North Peak Capital Management LLC now owns 7,123,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,081,000 after purchasing an additional 589,556 shares in the last quarter. Emeth Value Capital LLC lifted its position in Driven Brands by 34.8% during the third quarter. Emeth Value Capital LLC now owns 3,263,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,745,000 after purchasing an additional 842,668 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Driven Brands during the third quarter valued at $44,645,000. Norwood Investment Partners LP purchased a new position in Driven Brands during the first quarter valued at $15,892,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Driven Brands by 5.4% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 609,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,449,000 after purchasing an additional 31,430 shares in the last quarter. 77.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Driven Brands

Driven Brands Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides automotive services to retail and commercial customers in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers various services, such as paint, collision, glass, repair, car wash, oil change, and maintenance services. The company also distributes automotive parts, including radiators, air conditioning components, and exhaust products to automotive repair shops, auto parts stores, body shops, and other auto repair outlets; windshields and glass accessories through a network of distribution centers; and consumable products, such as oil filters and wiper blades, as well as training services to repair and maintenance, and paint and collision shops.