328,201 Shares in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) Bought by ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC

ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 328,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,120,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the third quarter worth approximately $5,757,000. Deepwater Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 68.5% in the 2nd quarter. Deepwater Asset Management LLC now owns 695,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,216,000 after purchasing an additional 282,765 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 26.5% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,340,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,545,000 after purchasing an additional 281,056 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 18.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,611,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,674,000 after buying an additional 255,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nicholas Investment Partners LP acquired a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the second quarter valued at $3,391,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Advent Partners Gpe Viii Limit sold 8,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.76, for a total transaction of $158,080,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,189,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,190,131.84. This trade represents a 29.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 5.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Down 1.2 %

First Watch Restaurant Group stock opened at $18.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $16.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.90. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $12.90 and a 1-year high of $25.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $251.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.17 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 2.09% and a return on equity of 3.61%. First Watch Restaurant Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.09 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FWRG. Barclays increased their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Stephens boosted their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.30.

First Watch Restaurant Group Company Profile

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates and franchises restaurants under the First Watch trade name in the United States. The company was formerly known as AI Fresh Super Holdco, Inc and changed its name to First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc in December 2019. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc was founded in 1983 and is based in Bradenton, Florida.