Royce & Associates LP Makes New Investment in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. $FWRG

Royce & Associates LP purchased a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 133,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,006,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 61.9% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,673 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of 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. Comerica Bank lifted its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 30.2% in the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 8,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 1,991 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $162,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at First Watch Restaurant Group

In related news, 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 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 trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Matthew Eisenacher sold 2,760 shares of the 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 $34,555.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 67,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $841,631.96. This represents a 3.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 68,013 shares of company stock valued at $853,606. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:FWRG opened at $11.63 on Friday. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a one year low of $10.09 and a one year high of $19.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $716.93 million, a PE ratio of 41.54, a P/E/G ratio of 6.07 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $11.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.33.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last posted its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $329.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.01) EPS. First Watch Restaurant Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on FWRG shares. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Citigroup decreased 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 report on Wednesday, February 25th. Zacks Research upgraded First Watch Restaurant Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Benchmark decreased their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.25.

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.