The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Acquires 192,471 Shares of First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,533,290 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 192,471 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group were worth $23,919,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC bought a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,757,000. Deepwater Asset Management LLC lifted its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 68.5% in the 2nd quarter. Deepwater Asset Management LLC now owns 695,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,216,000 after acquiring an additional 282,765 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 18.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,611,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,674,000 after purchasing an additional 255,307 shares during the period. Nicholas Investment Partners LP bought a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,391,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 15.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,385,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,338,000 after purchasing an additional 189,740 shares during the period. 96.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FWRG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Raymond James upped their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.30.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Up 1.1 %

First Watch Restaurant Group stock opened at $19.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The company’s 50-day moving average is $16.85 and its 200-day moving average is $16.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of 57.85, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.85. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $12.90 and a fifty-two week high of $25.98.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.02). First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 3.61% and a net margin of 2.09%. The business had revenue of $251.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.17 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.09 EPS. First Watch Restaurant Group’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Advent Partners Gpe Viii Limit sold 8,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.76, for a total transaction of $158,080,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,189,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,190,131.84. This trade represents a 29.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 5.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About First Watch Restaurant Group

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.