American Century Companies Inc. Increases Position in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. $FWRG

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 369.1% in Q1, acquiring an additional 39,592 shares to hold a total of 50,320 shares valued at approximately $838,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Russell Investments Group and Nuveen LLC, also significantly boosted their holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group during the same quarter.
• Analysts have mixed projections on First Watch's stock price, with target prices ranging from $19.00 to $24.00 and an average rating of "Buy."

American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG - Free Report) by 369.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 50,320 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 39,592 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of First Watch Restaurant Group worth $838,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Wyoming raised its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 212.6% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 3,214 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 2,186 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $86,000. Comerica Bank raised its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 316.2% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 5,157 shares of the company's stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 3,918 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 1,617.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,445 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 5,128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 85.2% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,807 shares of the company's stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 4,512 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at First Watch Restaurant Group

In related news, major shareholder International L.P. Advent sold 5,000,000 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.70, for a total value of $88,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,689,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $171,509,176.80. The trade was a 34.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.00% of the company's stock.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FWRG traded up $0.23 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $17.68. 1,801,661 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,031,125. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $12.90 and a fifty-two week high of $22.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of 294.72, a P/E/G ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.37.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $307.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $304.94 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 0.69% and a net margin of 0.37%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.14 EPS. First Watch Restaurant Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts predict that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut First Watch Restaurant Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Zacks Research upgraded First Watch Restaurant Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Watch Restaurant Group presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $21.09.

First Watch Restaurant Group 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.