Western Standard LLC Buys 283,736 Shares of Driven Brands Holdings Inc. $DRVN

Western Standard LLC lifted its position in Driven Brands Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:DRVN) by 69.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 693,413 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 283,736 shares during the quarter. Driven Brands comprises approximately 3.3% of Western Standard LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Western Standard LLC owned 0.42% of Driven Brands worth $11,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DRVN. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Driven Brands by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 216,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,800,000 after acquiring an additional 682 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of Driven Brands by 2.7% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 30,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Driven Brands by 82.1% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 941 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Driven Brands by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 34,247 shares of the company’s stock valued at $601,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Driven Brands by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 35,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,000 after buying an additional 1,493 shares during the last quarter. 77.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Driven Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Despite the turmoil, the company reported flat quarterly EPS versus the prior year and a strong return on equity (25.3%), indicating underlying franchise profitability may still exist. DRVN earnings and metrics
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent quarter: DRVN reported $0.30 EPS (missed consensus by $0.02) and $457.3M revenue (slightly below estimates); analysts project ~0.85 EPS for the fiscal year — these are modest misses but not on their own catastrophic. Quarterly results
• Negative Sentiment: Management called off the scheduled earnings release and said it will restate certain previously issued financial results — this directly triggered the selloff and raises accounting and disclosure risk for investors. Earnings delay and restatement
• Negative Sentiment: At least a half‑dozen law firms have opened investigations or issued shareholder alerts (e.g., Faruqi & Faruqi, Robbins Geller, Pomerantz, Glancy, Rosen, Kirby McInerney, Ademi, Holzer & Holzer). The proliferation of suits increases potential legal exposure, settlement risk and management distraction. Faruqi & Faruqi shareholder alert
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction has been severe (reports of ~30% intraday decline after the announcement), reflecting heightened investor concern about restatement magnitude, potential revisions to prior earnings, and governance/controls issues. Market reaction coverage

Driven Brands Price Performance

Shares of DRVN stock opened at $11.45 on Friday. Driven Brands Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.80 and a 52 week high of $19.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a PE ratio of -9.23, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $15.65 and its 200-day moving average is $15.82.

Driven Brands (NASDAQ:DRVN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.02). Driven Brands had a positive return on equity of 25.31% and a negative net margin of 9.14%.The company had revenue of $457.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $459.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Driven Brands Holdings Inc. will post 0.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DRVN shares. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Driven Brands in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Driven Brands in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Driven Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 13th. Piper Sandler cut shares of Driven Brands from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $19.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Driven Brands from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Driven Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.56.

Insider Activity at Driven Brands

In related news, insider Scott L. O’melia sold 46,875 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.00, for a total value of $750,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 326,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,231,104. This trade represents a 12.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Driven Brands

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.