Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Position in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,311,905 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 263,101 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 2.19% of First Watch Restaurant Group worth $22,683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 170.4% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,278 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the third quarter worth $35,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 117.8% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 3,232.8% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 2,166 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 355.7% in the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,775 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William A. Kussell sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.53, for a total value of $307,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,795 shares in the company, valued at $426,921.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director William A. Kussell sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.53, for a total value of $307,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,795 shares in the company, valued at $426,921.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Matthew Eisenacher sold 3,770 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.28, for a total transaction of $91,535.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $750,397.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,091,741 shares of company stock worth $170,160,841 over the last three months. Insiders own 4.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on FWRG shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.00.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Performance

FWRG opened at $22.57 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.05, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.11. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $14.34 and a 52-week high of $25.88. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.48.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.04. The business had revenue of $244.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $237.20 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 4.62%. The company’s revenue was up 31.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.01) earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Watch Restaurant Group Profile

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates and franchises restaurants under the First Watch trade name in the United States. The company was formerly known as AI Fresh Super Holdco, Inc and changed its name to First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc in December 2019. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc was founded in 1983 and is based in Bradenton, Florida.