Principal Financial Group Inc. Makes New $2.85 Million Investment in Driven Brands Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:DRVN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Driven Brands Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:DRVN) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 166,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,850,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of Driven Brands as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. North Peak Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Driven Brands by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. North Peak Capital Management LLC now owns 5,756,217 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,905,000 after purchasing an additional 457,217 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Driven Brands by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,708,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,134,000 after purchasing an additional 31,431 shares during the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY increased its holdings in shares of Driven Brands by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 4,750,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,665,000 after buying an additional 1,250,000 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Driven Brands by 54.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,186,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,141,000 after buying an additional 416,744 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Driven Brands by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 578,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,332,000 after acquiring an additional 37,959 shares during the last quarter. 77.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Driven Brands Trading Down 1.2%

DRVN opened at $17.07 on Friday. Driven Brands Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $12.66 and a 12-month high of $18.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a PE ratio of -9.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $17.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.81.

Driven Brands (NASDAQ:DRVN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $516.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $492.19 million. Driven Brands had a negative net margin of 12.75% and a positive return on equity of 19.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.23 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Driven Brands Holdings Inc. will post 0.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Driven Brands from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Driven Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Driven Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Driven Brands in a research note on Monday, June 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Driven Brands in a report on Friday, April 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.00.

Driven Brands 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.