Vancity Investment Management Ltd Makes New Investment in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. $FWRG

Key Points

• Vancity Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group, purchasing 45,509 shares valued at approximately $758,000, marking a 0.07% ownership stake in the company.
• Other institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes in First Watch, with notable increases such as State of Wyoming's 212.6% rise in ownership during the fourth quarter.
• The company's recent quarterly report showed a revenue increase of 19.1% year-over-year, despite missing earnings per share (EPS) estimates and setting a FY 2025 EPS guidance.

Vancity Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 45,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $758,000. Vancity Investment Management Ltd owned approximately 0.07% of First Watch Restaurant Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. bought a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group during the 1st quarter worth $259,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 272.0% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 56,466 shares of the company's stock worth $940,000 after purchasing an additional 41,289 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,085,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 203.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 238,661 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,974,000 after buying an additional 160,040 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 708,663 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,799,000 after buying an additional 15,304 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.11% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on FWRG. Raymond James Financial boosted 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 report on Thursday, July 17th. Bank of America 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 Friday, July 18th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Benchmark increased their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $21.09.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder International L.P. Advent sold 5,000,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.70, for a total transaction of $88,500,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,689,784 shares in the company, valued at $171,509,176.80. This represents a 34.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Watch Restaurant Group Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of FWRG traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $17.68. 1,801,661 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,031,125. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $12.90 and a fifty-two week high of $22.71. The business has a 50-day moving average of $17.77 and a 200-day moving average of $17.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 294.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 0.37% and a return on equity of 0.69%. The firm had revenue of $307.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $304.94 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. First Watch Restaurant Group's quarterly revenue was up 19.1% on a year-over-year basis. First Watch Restaurant Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts expect that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

First Watch Restaurant Group 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.