Kestrel Investment Management Corp Takes Position in Driven Brands Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:DRVN)

Kestrel Investment Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Driven Brands Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:DRVN) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 215,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,067,000. Driven Brands accounts for 2.1% of Kestrel Investment Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Driven Brands by 56.1% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 16,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 5,831 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in Driven Brands by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 8,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Driven Brands by 1.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,390,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,864,000 after purchasing an additional 100,300 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in Driven Brands by 1,467.0% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 26,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 24,954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Driven Brands in the third quarter worth about $2,524,000. 77.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Driven Brands Price Performance

DRVN traded down $0.42 on Friday, hitting $14.11. 1,072,278 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,078,591. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.38. The firm has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.18. Driven Brands Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $10.60 and a one year high of $31.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21.

Driven Brands (NASDAQ:DRVN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $553.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $572.92 million. Driven Brands had a positive return on equity of 11.00% and a negative net margin of 32.33%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.22 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Driven Brands Holdings Inc. will post 0.89 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley downgraded Driven Brands from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Driven Brands from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Driven Brands from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Driven Brands from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Driven Brands from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.89.

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.