Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust Increases Stock Position in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. $FWRG

Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust boosted its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) by 92.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 498,226 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 239,688 shares during the quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust’s holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group were worth $7,792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 8,815.8% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,675 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 207.6% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,316 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 61.9% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 1,673 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 435.5% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 5,918 shares during the period. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey raised its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 17.3% during the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 9,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on FWRG shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Watch Restaurant Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Watch Restaurant Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.91.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Up 1.5%

First Watch Restaurant Group stock opened at $16.96 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $16.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.03. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $12.90 and a 1-year high of $22.71. The company has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 212.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.21.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.03). First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 0.83% and a net margin of 0.42%.The business had revenue of $316.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.31 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal 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.