First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) Shares Bought by Champlain Investment Partners LLC

Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG - Free Report) by 59.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,582,303 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 958,417 shares during the quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC owned about 4.26% of First Watch Restaurant Group worth $48,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted 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 buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $81,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $157,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the fourth quarter worth $200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.11% of the company's stock.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

Shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock traded up $0.08 on Wednesday, hitting $19.96. 374,225 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 674,863. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.49. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FWRG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Securities raised First Watch Restaurant Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $21.00 price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.73.

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.