Man Group plc Makes New Investment in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. $FWRG

Man Group plc bought a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 80,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,043,000. Man Group plc owned about 0.13% of First Watch Restaurant Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FWRG. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the second quarter worth about $58,445,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,946,084 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,291,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,320,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,080,000 after purchasing an additional 432,634 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 19.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,084,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,328,000 after purchasing an additional 508,704 shares during the last quarter. 96.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FWRG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Freedom Capital upgraded First Watch Restaurant Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded First Watch Restaurant Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Citigroup reduced their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.56.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Up 0.3%

FWRG stock opened at $12.11 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $747.33 million, a PE ratio of 41.76, a PEG ratio of 20.12 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $12.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.23. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a one year low of $9.97 and a one year high of $19.02.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $354.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $351.57 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 1.35% and a return on equity of 2.85%. The company’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.15 EPS for the current year.

About First Watch Restaurant Group

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.