Riverbridge Partners LLC Buys 995,671 Shares of First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. $FWRG

Riverbridge Partners LLC lifted its position in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) by 90.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,091,700 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 995,671 shares during the period. Riverbridge Partners LLC’s holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group were worth $21,921,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Deepwater Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Deepwater Asset Management LLC now owns 724,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,335,000 after acquiring an additional 93,662 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP bought a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,006,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 46.7% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,367,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,615,000 after purchasing an additional 434,987 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,320,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,080,000 after purchasing an additional 432,634 shares during the period. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 2,032,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,653,000 after purchasing an additional 311,938 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

Shares of FWRG opened at $11.15 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $11.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $9.97 and a twelve month high of $19.53. The company has a market cap of $687.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 1.06.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.02). First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 2.85% and a net margin of 1.38%.The business had revenue of $330.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $329.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.01) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FWRG. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered First Watch Restaurant Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Citigroup cut their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.27.

First Watch Restaurant Group Company 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.