First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. $FWRG Shares Sold by GW&K Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• GW&K Investment Management trimmed its position in First Watch by 5.8% in Q3, selling 105,565 shares and ending the period with 1,720,693 shares (about 2.82% of the company) valued at roughly $26.9 million.
• Director William A. Kussell sold 6,165 shares at an average price of $17 on Jan. 22 (an 18.93% cut to his stake), and corporate insiders collectively own about 6% of the stock.
• First Watch topped EPS estimates for the quarter ($0.24 vs. $0.08) with revenue up 20.2% year-over-year, and analysts maintain a consensus Moderate Buy rating with an average price target of $20.08.

GW&K Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG - Free Report) by 5.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,720,693 shares of the company's stock after selling 105,565 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned about 2.82% of First Watch Restaurant Group worth $26,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FWRG. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 45,531 shares of the company's stock worth $730,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 23,016 shares of the company's stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 934 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 207.6% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,950 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,316 shares during the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 17.3% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 9,108 shares of the company's stock worth $146,000 after buying an additional 1,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 61.9% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,375 shares of the company's stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,673 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.11% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Watch Restaurant Group news, Director William A. Kussell sold 6,165 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.00, for a total value of $104,805.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 26,402 shares in the company, valued at $448,834. This trade represents a 18.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research raised First Watch Restaurant Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $21.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.08.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Up 8.4%

FWRG opened at $12.97 on Friday. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.88 and a 12 month high of $20.55. The business has a 50-day moving average of $15.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $792.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.92.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.16. First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 3.20%. The business had revenue of $316.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.01 EPS. The company's revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

About First Watch Restaurant Group

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc NASDAQ: FWRG operates a specialty daytime dining concept focused on breakfast, brunch and lunch. The company's casual, full-service cafés emphasize fresh ingredients, made-to-order entrées and a seasonally driven menu that ranges from omelets and Benedicts to salads, skillets and afternoon sandwiches. First Watch positions itself as a daytime-only destination, with most locations opening early morning and closing by mid-afternoon.

Founded in 1983 by Ken Pendery and John Sullivan in Pacific Grove, California, First Watch began as a single café and gradually expanded through company-owned and select franchised locations.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.