The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Makes New $49.29 Million Investment in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. $FWRG

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,823,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,291,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 6.20% of First Watch Restaurant Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 67.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 54,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $903,000 after purchasing an additional 21,830 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 31.8% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 22,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 5,497 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 1.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 45,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $730,000 after buying an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 45.8% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 73,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,185,000 after buying an additional 23,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 43.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 72,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,158,000 after buying an additional 21,846 shares in the last quarter. 96.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on FWRG. Wall Street Zen raised First Watch Restaurant Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $14.00 price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of First Watch Restaurant Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First Watch Restaurant Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.56.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Down 0.8%

FWRG opened at $12.89 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.39. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.97 and a 52 week high of $19.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $795.44 million, a PE ratio of 44.45, a P/E/G ratio of 21.65 and a beta of 1.03.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $351.57 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.