Bank of America Corp DE Makes New Investment in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. $FWRG

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 1.07 million shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the second quarter, valued at approximately $13.8 million and representing a 1.73% stake.
• Institutional ownership is substantial, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 96.11% of the company’s stock after several investors established new positions.
• First Watch reported quarterly revenue of $354.67 million, up 15.2% year over year, but earnings of $0.04 per share fell short of estimates. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $18.56, versus a recent share price of $10.14.

Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,069,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,783,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned 1.73% of First Watch Restaurant Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Man Group plc bought a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,043,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $409,000. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,122,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $764,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.11% of the company's stock.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Performance

Shares of FWRG stock opened at $10.14 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $12.00 and a 200 day moving average of $11.88. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.88 and a 1 year high of $18.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $625.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 17.03 and a beta of 1.03.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $354.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $351.57 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 1.35% and a return on equity of 2.85%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on FWRG. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised First Watch Restaurant Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings cut First Watch Restaurant Group from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised 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 assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Watch Restaurant Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $18.56.

About First Watch Restaurant Group

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc is a U.S.-based restaurant company that operates full-service daytime dining restaurants under the First Watch brand. Its restaurants serve breakfast, brunch and lunch, with made-to-order menu items such as omelets, eggs, pancakes, avocado toast, sandwiches, salads and fresh juices. The company emphasizes fresh ingredients, seasonal offerings and hospitality in a daytime-only operating model.

First Watch restaurants are located across the United States, primarily in suburban and high-traffic retail areas.

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