Driven Brands (NASDAQ:DRVN) Stock Price Down 4.5% Following Analyst Downgrade

Driven Brands Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:DRVN)’s share price fell 4.5% during mid-day trading on Friday after Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $18.00 to $17.00. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Driven Brands traded as low as $13.30 and last traded at $13.2010. 102,928 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 94% from the average session volume of 1,703,110 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.83.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on DRVN. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Driven Brands from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $18.00 price target on Driven Brands in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird set a $18.00 price target on Driven Brands and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Driven Brands from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Driven Brands from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Driven Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.18.

Driven Brands News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Driven Brands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Driven Brands reported first-quarter results that beat expectations, with adjusted EPS of $0.30 versus the $0.25 consensus and revenue of $484.4 million slightly above estimates. The company also said system-wide sales rose 6% and same-store sales increased 2%, signaling continued momentum at its core business, especially Take 5 Oil Change.
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG Research reaffirmed its buy rating and set a $17 price target, while Royal Bank of Canada lowered its target from $18 to $17 but kept an outperform rating. Both imply meaningful upside from current levels and suggest analysts see room for further recovery.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several post-earnings notes highlighted that Take 5 remains the key growth driver, but investors are still watching deleveraging progress, softer traffic trends, and restatement-related costs. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha commentary said Driven Brands looks cheaper on valuation, but it is not yet an attractive buy because leverage remains high and near-term earnings growth looks limited. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Even with the earnings beat, revenue still declined 6.2% from the same quarter last year, and the company kept its outlook unchanged, which may temper enthusiasm for a full-speed rerating.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Driven Brands by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,851,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,715,000 after purchasing an additional 288,759 shares in the last quarter. North Peak Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Driven Brands by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. North Peak Capital Management LLC now owns 3,990,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,144,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,896 shares during the last quarter. Emeth Value Capital LLC increased its stake in Driven Brands by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Emeth Value Capital LLC now owns 3,846,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000,000 after acquiring an additional 582,255 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Driven Brands by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,826,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,704,000 after acquiring an additional 491,919 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in Driven Brands by 1,301.0% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,426,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,783,000 after acquiring an additional 3,181,812 shares during the last quarter. 77.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Driven Brands Trading Down 3.4%

The firm has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.11 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.45. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.93.

Driven Brands (NASDAQ:DRVN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 11th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $484.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $480.84 million. Driven Brands had a return on equity of 25.83% and a net margin of 6.55%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Driven Brands Holdings Inc. will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Driven Brands Company Profile

Driven Brands Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: DRVN) is a leading North American provider of automotive aftermarket services, operating through a network of franchised and company-owned locations. The company’s platform encompasses a diverse portfolio of car care and maintenance brands, including Meineke Car Care Centers, Maaco Collision Repair & Auto Painting, Take 5 Oil Change, and Carstar Collision Repair. Driven Brands delivers a full range of services from routine maintenance and oil changes to collision repair, paint protection, and vehicle customization.

Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Driven Brands serves both individual consumers and commercial clients across the United States and Canada.