MetLife Investment Management LLC Buys 2,841 Shares of First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG)

MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) by 15.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,768 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,841 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group were worth $386,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 505.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 172,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,690,000 after buying an additional 144,014 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 14.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,114,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,022,000 after acquiring an additional 136,871 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,986,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,988,000 after acquiring an additional 366,227 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 84.5% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 29,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 13,301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 98.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 7,547 shares during the last quarter. 96.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Christopher Anthony Tomasso sold 42,039 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total transaction of $706,675.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 389,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,553,075.92. The trade was a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jay Anthony Wolszczak sold 5,743 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total transaction of $96,539.83. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $634,880.08. The trade was a 13.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

Shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock opened at $15.33 on Wednesday. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a one year low of $12.90 and a one year high of $24.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $17.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.76. The stock has a market cap of $934.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.54.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($0.05). First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 3.61% and a net margin of 2.09%. The company had revenue of $282.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $282.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.12 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FWRG. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen raised shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $21.00 target price on First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.36.

First Watch Restaurant Group Company 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.