Legal & General Group Plc Makes New Investment in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. $FWRG

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 48,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $631,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $58,445,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $49,291,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the second quarter worth $47,938,000. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the third quarter worth $20,318,000. Finally, Riverbridge Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 90.8% during the first quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC now owns 2,091,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,921,000 after acquiring an additional 995,671 shares during the period. 96.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Performance

Shares of FWRG opened at $12.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $758.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.38, a PEG ratio of 20.08 and a beta of 1.03. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.97 and a 12 month high of $18.82. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on FWRG shares. Freedom Capital raised shares of First Watch Restaurant Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen raised First Watch Restaurant Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Citigroup cut 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded First Watch Restaurant Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Watch Restaurant Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.56.

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.