Deepwater Asset Management LLC Reduces Stake in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. $FWRG

Key Points

• Deepwater Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 13.6%, selling 107,131 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to 681,339 shares.
• First Watch has seen significant activity among institutional investors, with ownership now at 96.11%, highlighting the stock's attractiveness to large investment firms.
• Despite earnings per share of $0.03 for the last quarter missing estimates, First Watch's revenue increased 19.1% year-over-year, totaling $307.89 million.

Deepwater Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG - Free Report) by 13.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 681,339 shares of the company's stock after selling 107,131 shares during the period. First Watch Restaurant Group comprises 4.8% of Deepwater Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Deepwater Asset Management LLC owned approximately 1.12% of First Watch Restaurant Group worth $11,344,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 100.5% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 215,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,584,000 after acquiring an additional 107,911 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the first quarter worth $1,085,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 86.9% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 45,198 shares of the company's stock valued at $753,000 after buying an additional 21,009 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 3.5% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 320,706 shares of the company's stock worth $5,340,000 after buying an additional 10,855 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,398,180 shares of the company's stock worth $39,930,000 after buying an additional 46,566 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.11% of the company's stock.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Performance

First Watch Restaurant Group stock traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $17.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,296,402 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,271,314. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $16.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.62. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $12.90 and a 1-year high of $22.71. The company has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 287.55, a PEG ratio of 6.35 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $307.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $304.94 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 0.69% and a net margin of 0.37%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 19.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.14 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side 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 research analysts have commented on FWRG shares. Stephens increased their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Zacks Research upgraded First Watch Restaurant Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $21.09.

Insider Activity at First Watch Restaurant Group

In other news, major shareholder International L.P. Advent sold 5,000,000 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.70, for a total transaction of $88,500,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,689,784 shares in the company, valued at $171,509,176.80. The trade was a 34.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.