Stephens Investment Management Group LLC Raises Stock Position in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. $FWRG

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) by 21.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 932,064 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 163,102 shares during the quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC owned about 1.53% of First Watch Restaurant Group worth $14,577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 1.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 45,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $730,000 after buying an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 207.6% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,316 shares during the period. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey grew its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 17.3% during the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 9,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 61.9% in 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. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 8,815.8% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,675 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FWRG. Wall Street Zen raised First Watch Restaurant Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First Watch Restaurant Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.91.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

FWRG opened at $16.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 208.78, a P/E/G ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $16.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.05. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $12.90 and a 1 year high of $22.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.21.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $316.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.31 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 0.42% and a return on equity of 0.83%. Sell-side analysts predict that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.