Granahan Investment Management LLC Sells 363,200 Shares of First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. $FWRG

Key Points

• Granahan Investment Management reduced its First Watch Restaurant Group stake by 25% in the first quarter, selling 363,200 shares and leaving it with about 1.76% of the company worth $11.4 million.
• Other institutional investors were active as well, with firms like Bank of New York Mellon, Vanguard, and Dimensional increasing their holdings; overall, 96.11% of the stock is owned by institutions and hedge funds.
• First Watch reported quarterly revenue of $330.96 million, up 17.3% year over year, but missed EPS estimates with a loss of $0.04 per share. Analysts still hold a Moderate Buy consensus with a target price of $18.78.

Granahan Investment Management LLC cut its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG - Free Report) by 25.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,088,037 shares of the company's stock after selling 363,200 shares during the period. Granahan Investment Management LLC owned approximately 1.76% of First Watch Restaurant Group worth $11,403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 96.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,957,697 shares of the company's stock worth $41,477,000 after buying an additional 1,946,084 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,320,929 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,080,000 after buying an additional 432,634 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 19.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,084,886 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,328,000 after acquiring an additional 508,704 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 51.7% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,335,883 shares of the company's stock worth $37,468,000 after acquiring an additional 796,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 13.4% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,281,137 shares of the company's stock worth $36,589,000 after acquiring an additional 269,726 shares in the last quarter. 96.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

FWRG opened at $12.12 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $11.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $747.20 million, a PE ratio of 43.29, a P/E/G ratio of 7.09 and a beta of 1.03. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.97 and a 52 week high of $19.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.29.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.02). First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 2.85% and a net margin of 1.38%.The company had revenue of $330.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $329.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.01) EPS. First Watch Restaurant Group's quarterly revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FWRG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $14.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Freedom Capital raised shares of First Watch Restaurant Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered First Watch Restaurant Group from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut First Watch Restaurant Group from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.78.

First Watch Restaurant Group Profile

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.

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