First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. $FWRG Shares Sold by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reduced its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 28.3%, selling 131,870 shares, bringing its total ownership to 334,395 shares, valued at approximately $5.57 million.
• Several hedge funds have altered their positions in First Watch, with MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS and PNC Financial Services Group increasing their stakes by 3.7% and 4.4% respectively.
• First Watch reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.03, missing analysts' expectations, while its revenue of $307.89 million was slightly above estimates, reflecting a 19.1% year-over-year increase.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG - Free Report) by 28.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 334,395 shares of the company's stock after selling 131,870 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.55% of First Watch Restaurant Group worth $5,568,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Wyoming grew 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 buying an additional 2,186 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group in the fourth quarter worth about $86,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew 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 worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 5,128 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 316.2% during 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. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 85.2% during 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. 96.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Watch Restaurant Group Trading Down 3.7%

FWRG traded down $0.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $15.94. The stock had a trading volume of 1,883,533 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,072,144. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $17.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $972.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 265.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.92. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $12.90 and a 1-year high of $22.71.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lowered their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. TD Cowen raised their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Watch Restaurant Group currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $21.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder International L.P. Advent sold 4,400,000 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.67, for a total transaction of $77,748,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,289,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $93,470,483.28. The trade was a 45.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 6.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About First Watch Restaurant Group

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.