Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 479,741 Shares of First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG - Free Report) by 25.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,351,614 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 479,741 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 3.88% of First Watch Restaurant Group worth $43,764,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 68.7% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,455 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group during the fourth quarter worth $81,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $157,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the 4th quarter worth $200,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.11% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on FWRG shares. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $21.00 price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $21.00 price target (down previously from $24.00) on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, TD Securities raised First Watch Restaurant Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.45.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

First Watch Restaurant Group stock traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $19.02. 150,140 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 623,360. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $12.90 and a 52 week high of $25.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of 57.54, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.02. The company's fifty day moving average is $18.41 and its 200-day moving average is $18.33.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $263.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $262.82 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 3.61% and a net margin of 2.09%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.04 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Watch Restaurant Group

In other news, CEO Christopher Anthony Tomasso sold 42,039 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total value of $706,675.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 389,832 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,553,075.92. This represents a 9.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jay Anthony Wolszczak sold 5,743 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total transaction of $96,539.83. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,768 shares of the company's stock, valued at $634,880.08. This represents a 13.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.00% of the company's stock.

First Watch Restaurant Group Company Profile

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates and franchises restaurants under the First Watch trade name in the United States. The company was formerly known as AI Fresh Super Holdco, Inc and changed its name to First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc in December 2019. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc was founded in 1983 and is based in Bradenton, Florida.