Empowered Funds LLC Acquires Shares of 362,916 First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. $FWRG

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 362,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,678,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 45,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $730,000 after acquiring an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 46,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $695,000 after purchasing an additional 832 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 25,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154 shares during the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS boosted its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 0.5% during the first quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 310,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,258,000 after purchasing an additional 1,450 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 16,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 1,606 shares during the period. 96.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FWRG. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $14.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.56.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Performance

FWRG opened at $12.68 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.29. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.97 and a 1 year high of $19.15. The company has a market capitalization of $782.48 million, a PE ratio of 43.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 20.85 and a beta of 1.03.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 2.85% and a net margin of 1.35%.The firm had revenue of $354.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $351.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.15 EPS for the current year.

About First Watch Restaurant Group

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.