Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Invests $980,000 in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. $FWRG

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 65,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $980,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned 0.11% of First Watch Restaurant Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Deepwater Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Deepwater Asset Management LLC now owns 724,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,335,000 after purchasing an additional 93,662 shares during the period. Ghisallo Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,516,000. Penn Capital Management Company LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 1,125,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,642,000 after purchasing an additional 119,462 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,320,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,080,000 after purchasing an additional 432,634 shares during the period. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,235,000. 96.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FWRG opened at $11.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $720.69 million, a P/E ratio of 41.75, a PEG ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.29. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a one year low of $10.09 and a one year high of $19.53. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.35.

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

Insider Activity at First Watch Restaurant Group

In other First Watch Restaurant Group news, insider Jay Anthony Wolszczak sold 3,161 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total transaction of $39,575.72. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 228,930 shares in the company, valued at $2,866,203.60. The trade was a 1.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura Anne Sorensen sold 4,732 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.59, for a total value of $59,575.88. Following the sale, the insider owned 239,050 shares in the company, valued at $3,009,639.50. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 68,013 shares of company stock worth $853,606 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays cut their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $14.00 target price on First Watch Restaurant Group in a 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 on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.25.

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.