Hodges Capital Management Inc. Increases Holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. $FWRG

Hodges Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) by 385.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 693,341 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 550,407 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group were worth $10,456,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,320,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,080,000 after acquiring an additional 432,634 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 2.9% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,442,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,206,000 after acquiring an additional 69,415 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $37,468,000 after acquiring an additional 796,191 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 13.4% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,281,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,589,000 after acquiring an additional 269,726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 2,032,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,653,000 after acquiring an additional 311,938 shares in the last quarter. 96.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Watch Restaurant Group

In other First Watch Restaurant Group news, insider Matthew Eisenacher sold 2,760 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total value of $34,555.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 67,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $841,631.96. This trade represents a 3.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher Anthony Tomasso sold 25,062 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total value of $313,776.24. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 38,255 shares of company stock valued at $478,953. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:FWRG 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 company has a market capitalization 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. The business’s 50-day moving average is $11.56 and its 200 day moving average is $13.97.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last posted its 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $329.35 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 2.85% and a net margin of 1.38%.First Watch Restaurant Group’s quarterly revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.01) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on FWRG shares. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $14.00 price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One investment 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 given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Watch Restaurant Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.27.

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.