Driven Brands (NASDAQ:DRVN) Lifted to “Strong-Buy” at Baird R W

Baird R W upgraded shares of Driven Brands (NASDAQ:DRVN) to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Friday, Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on DRVN. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Driven Brands from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays cut their price target on Driven Brands from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Driven Brands from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Driven Brands from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an overweight rating and set a $17.00 target price (up from $14.00) on shares of Driven Brands in a research report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $17.75.

Driven Brands Stock Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:DRVN traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $13.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,030,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,287,737. The company has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.12. Driven Brands has a 12 month low of $10.59 and a 12 month high of $16.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $12.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.22.

Driven Brands (NASDAQ:DRVN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.07. Driven Brands had a negative net margin of 33.56% and a positive return on equity of 15.31%. The company had revenue of $611.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $628.34 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. Driven Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Driven Brands will post 0.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Driven Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRVN. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Driven Brands by 49.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 904 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Driven Brands by 126.9% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,594 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Driven Brands during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Driven Brands by 14.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,758 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in Driven Brands by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 15,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 2,226 shares during the last quarter. 77.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Driven Brands Company Profile

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.