Stephens Investment Management Group LLC Grows Stake in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. $FWRG

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) by 46.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,367,051 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 434,987 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group were worth $20,615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FWRG. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the third quarter worth about $30,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 61.9% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,673 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 435.5% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 5,918 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 30.2% during the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 8,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after buying an additional 1,991 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $162,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on FWRG shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $14.00 target price on First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Barclays dropped their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.25.

Insider Transactions at First Watch Restaurant Group

In related news, CEO Christopher Anthony Tomasso sold 25,062 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total value of $313,776.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 957,315 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,985,583.80. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jay Anthony Wolszczak sold 3,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total value of $39,575.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 228,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,866,203.60. The trade was a 1.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 68,013 shares of company stock valued at $853,606 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FWRG opened at $11.23 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $692.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.11, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $11.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.71. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $330.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $329.35 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 1.38% and a return on equity of 2.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.01) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current year.

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.