GW&K Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. $FWRG

GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its position in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) by 18.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,032,631 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 311,938 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC’s holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group were worth $30,653,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $64,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 61.9% during the 2nd 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. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 17,042.4% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 5,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake 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 valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 5,918 shares in the last quarter. 96.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on FWRG. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $14.00 price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. 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 research note on Wednesday, February 25th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Watch Restaurant Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.27.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

NASDAQ FWRG opened at $10.98 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $676.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.22, a PEG ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $11.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.97. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.97 and a 1 year high of $19.53.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $330.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $329.35 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 2.85% and a net margin of 1.38%.The business’s revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.01) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at First Watch Restaurant Group

In related news, CFO H Melville Hope III sold 3,878 shares of the company’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 $48,552.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 111,787 shares in the company, valued at $1,399,573.24. This represents a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher Anthony Tomasso sold 25,062 shares of the 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 $313,776.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 957,315 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,985,583.80. This trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,255 shares of company stock valued at $478,953. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Watch Restaurant Group 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.