Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Takes $1.78 Million Position in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. $FWRG

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC acquired a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 138,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,784,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $47,938,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 81.4% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,357,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,191,000 after buying an additional 1,507,074 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the third quarter valued at $20,318,000. Riverbridge Partners LLC increased its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 90.8% during the 1st quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC now owns 2,091,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,921,000 after purchasing an additional 995,671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 51.7% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,335,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,468,000 after acquiring an additional 796,191 shares during the last quarter. 96.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock opened at $12.01 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $741.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.42, a PEG ratio of 21.20 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $12.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.22. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.97 and a 1 year high of $19.53.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $354.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $351.57 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 2.85% and a net margin of 1.35%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $14.00 price target on First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One investment 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.56.

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.