Western Standard LLC Buys New Shares in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. $FWRG

Western Standard LLC bought a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 513,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,616,000. First Watch Restaurant Group makes up approximately 2.2% of Western Standard LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the second quarter worth approximately $58,445,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 96.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,957,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,477,000 after acquiring an additional 1,946,084 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,507,074 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,320,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,080,000 after acquiring an additional 432,634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,084,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,328,000 after acquiring an additional 508,704 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

First Watch Restaurant Group Trading Up 4.0%

First Watch Restaurant Group stock opened at $12.49 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $12.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.52. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.97 and a 52 week high of $19.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $770.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.07, a P/E/G ratio of 20.02 and a beta of 1.03.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 2.85% and a net margin of 1.35%.The firm had revenue of $354.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $351.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.15 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FWRG shares. Weiss Ratings raised First Watch Restaurant Group from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Citigroup decreased their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Freedom Capital raised First Watch Restaurant Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $14.00 price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.56.

First Watch Restaurant Group 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.