Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. $FWRG

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. significantly increased its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 100.5% in Q1, acquiring an additional 107,911 shares, now owning a total of 215,283 shares valued at approximately $3.58 million.
• Major shareholder International L.P. Advent sold 5 million shares at an average price of $17.70, reducing their position by 34.04% and bringing their ownership down to about 9.69 million shares.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of Buy for First Watch Restaurant Group, with an average price target of $21.09, although several firms have lowered their price targets recently.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG - Free Report) by 100.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 215,283 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 107,911 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.35% of First Watch Restaurant Group worth $3,584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FWRG. State of Wyoming lifted its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 212.6% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 3,214 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 2,186 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group during the 4th quarter valued at $86,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 1,617.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,445 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 5,128 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 316.2% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 5,157 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 3,918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 4,512 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at First Watch Restaurant Group

In related 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 shares were sold at an average price of $17.70, for a total value of $88,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,689,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at $171,509,176.80. The trade was a 34.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ FWRG traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $18.84. 507,086 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,361,804. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 314.05, a PEG ratio of 6.70 and a beta of 0.91. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $12.90 and a 12-month high of $22.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.27. The business has a 50 day moving average of $17.43 and a 200-day moving average of $17.51.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FWRG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Watch Restaurant Group presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $21.09.

First Watch Restaurant Group Company 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.