Riverbridge Partners LLC Purchases 995,671 Shares of First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. $FWRG

Key Points

• Riverbridge Partners LLC significantly increased its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group, buying 995,671 additional shares in the first quarter and lifting its holdings to 2,091,700 shares, or about 3.39% of the company.
• Other institutional investors also boosted positions in FWRG, and the stock is now about 96.11% owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Analysts remain cautiously positive overall, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $19.27, though several firms recently trimmed their targets.

Riverbridge Partners LLC raised its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG - Free Report) by 90.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,091,700 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 995,671 shares during the period. Riverbridge Partners LLC owned approximately 3.39% of First Watch Restaurant Group worth $21,921,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 67.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 54,267 shares of the company's stock worth $903,000 after acquiring an additional 21,830 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 31.8% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 22,766 shares of the company's stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 5,497 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 45,531 shares of the company's stock valued at $730,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 45.8% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 73,882 shares of the company's stock worth $1,185,000 after purchasing an additional 23,205 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 43.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 72,166 shares of the company's stock worth $1,158,000 after purchasing an additional 21,846 shares during the period. 96.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on FWRG shares. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $19.27.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

FWRG opened at $11.15 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $11.69 and a 200 day moving average of $13.58. The stock has a market cap of $687.40 million, a P/E ratio of 39.82, a PEG ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.97 and a 52-week high of $19.53.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $330.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $329.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.01) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.2 EPS for the current year.

First Watch Restaurant Group Company 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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