Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 432,634 Shares of First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. $FWRG

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) by 15.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,320,929 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 432,634 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.05% of First Watch Restaurant Group worth $50,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 2.9% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,442,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,206,000 after purchasing an additional 69,415 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 51.7% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,335,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,468,000 after purchasing an additional 796,191 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 13.4% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,281,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,589,000 after purchasing an additional 269,726 shares during the period. Granahan Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 1.2% during the third quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 1,667,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,077,000 after purchasing an additional 20,204 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 36.4% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,641,205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,668,000 after purchasing an additional 438,096 shares during the period. 96.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO H Melville Hope III sold 7,358 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.59, for a total transaction of $92,637.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 115,665 shares in the company, valued at $1,456,222.35. The trade was a 5.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Matthew Eisenacher sold 6,070 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.59, for a total transaction of $76,421.30. Following the transaction, the insider owned 69,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $881,085.97. This trade represents a 7.98% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 68,013 shares of company stock worth $853,606 over the last 90 days. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

First Watch Restaurant Group Trading Up 4.4%

NASDAQ FWRG opened at $11.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $692.27 million, a PE ratio of 40.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $11.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.73. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $10.09 and a 52 week high of $19.53.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $330.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $329.35 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 2.85% and a net margin of 1.38%.The company’s revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.01) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FWRG. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Benchmark lowered their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Zacks Research raised shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.25.

First Watch Restaurant Group Company 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.