GW&K Investment Management LLC Increases Stake in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. $FWRG

GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) by 18.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,032,631 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 311,938 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned approximately 3.33% of First Watch Restaurant Group worth $30,653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $20,318,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 51.7% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,335,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,468,000 after purchasing an additional 796,191 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 2,796.3% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 813,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,716,000 after purchasing an additional 784,979 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 2,382.9% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 696,053 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,886,000 after purchasing an additional 668,019 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 18.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,888,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,173,000 after purchasing an additional 443,830 shares during the period. 96.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on FWRG. Stifel Nicolaus set a $14.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.27.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Performance

Shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock opened at $10.98 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $11.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.97. The firm has a market cap of $676.92 million, a P/E ratio of 39.22, a P/E/G ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 1.06. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.97 and a 12 month high of $19.53.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.02). First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 2.85% and a net margin of 1.38%.The business had revenue of $330.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $329.35 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.01) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Watch Restaurant Group

In other news, CEO Christopher Anthony Tomasso sold 25,062 shares of the company’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 $313,776.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 957,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,985,583.80. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Matthew Eisenacher sold 2,760 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total transaction of $34,555.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 67,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $841,631.96. The trade was a 3.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,255 shares of company stock worth $478,953. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.