JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Stock Holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. $FWRG

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,977,268 shares of the company’s stock after selling 236,486 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group were worth $30,924,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FWRG. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 932,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,577,000 after purchasing an additional 163,102 shares during the period. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $306,000. Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the second quarter worth about $5,614,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the second quarter worth about $18,350,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 4.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,022,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,407,000 after buying an additional 40,823 shares during the period. 96.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FWRG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Zacks Research upgraded First Watch Restaurant Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised First Watch Restaurant Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Watch Restaurant Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Watch Restaurant Group news, Director William A. Kussell sold 6,165 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.00, for a total value of $104,805.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 26,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $448,834. The trade was a 18.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Performance

Shares of FWRG stock opened at $12.46 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $15.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.29. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $12.16 and a 1 year high of $21.99. The firm has a market cap of $761.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.19, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.88.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $316.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $317.49 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 3.20% and a net margin of 1.59%.The business’s revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.01 EPS. Analysts predict that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

First Watch Restaurant Group Profile

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc (NASDAQ: FWRG) operates a specialty daytime dining concept focused on breakfast, brunch and lunch. The company’s casual, full-service cafés emphasize fresh ingredients, made-to-order entrées and a seasonally driven menu that ranges from omelets and Benedicts to salads, skillets and afternoon sandwiches. First Watch positions itself as a daytime-only destination, with most locations opening early morning and closing by mid-afternoon.

Founded in 1983 by Ken Pendery and John Sullivan in Pacific Grove, California, First Watch began as a single café and gradually expanded through company-owned and select franchised locations.