Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust Boosts Stock Holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. $FWRG

Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust lifted its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) by 92.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 498,226 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 239,688 shares during the period. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust owned about 0.82% of First Watch Restaurant Group worth $7,792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in 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 in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 207.6% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,316 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in 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 raised its holdings in 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. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey lifted its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 17.3% in the second 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 last quarter. 96.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective 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. Zacks Research lowered First Watch Restaurant Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen raised First Watch Restaurant Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Watch Restaurant Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.91.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

Shares of FWRG opened at $16.96 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $12.90 and a 1-year high of $22.71. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 212.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $16.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.03.

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

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.