Bank of New York Mellon Corp Purchases 160,040 Shares of First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG)

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon Corp significantly increased its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group, growing its position by 203.6% in the first quarter, now holding 238,661 shares valued at nearly $4 million.
• Several institutional investors have also adjusted their holdings in First Watch, with 96.11% of the stock now owned by institutions and hedge funds, indicating strong institutional interest.
• The stock recently rose by 1.5% and has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, but reported a quarterly earnings miss with an EPS of ($0.01) against a consensus estimate of $0.04.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG - Free Report) by 203.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 238,661 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 160,040 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.39% of First Watch Restaurant Group worth $3,974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 59.0% in the 4th quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,582,303 shares of the company's stock worth $48,057,000 after buying an additional 958,417 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,351,614 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,764,000 after purchasing an additional 479,741 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,141,209 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,848,000 after purchasing an additional 154,784 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,095,000. Finally, 12 West Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 20.2% during the fourth quarter. 12 West Capital Management LP now owns 2,013,406 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,469,000 after purchasing an additional 337,920 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.11% of the company's stock.

First Watch Restaurant Group Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:FWRG traded down $0.19 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $17.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 45,367 shares, compared to its average volume of 783,497. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $12.90 and a 12 month high of $22.71. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $16.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 100.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 0.90.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.04 by ($0.05). First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 1.03% and a return on equity of 1.84%. The business had revenue of $282.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $282.98 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.12 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FWRG. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Stephens cut their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $17.00 price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $20.82.

Insider Activity at First Watch Restaurant Group

In other First Watch Restaurant Group news, major shareholder International L.P. Advent sold 4,500,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.70, for a total value of $66,150,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 14,689,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at $215,939,824.80. This trade represents a 23.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.00% 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.