Nicholas Investment Partners LP Makes New Investment in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG)

Nicholas Investment Partners LP purchased a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 193,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,391,000. Nicholas Investment Partners LP owned 0.32% of First Watch Restaurant Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 29,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $718,000 after purchasing an additional 1,783 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 1,948 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 28.6% in the 2nd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 9,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $158,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the first quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Vancity Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Vancity Investment Management Ltd now owns 21,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $438,000 after acquiring an additional 2,808 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Performance

FWRG stock opened at $14.94 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.57. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.71. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.05 and a 52 week high of $25.98. The company has a market capitalization of $901.97 million, a PE ratio of 39.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.88.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.02. First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 4.24%. The business had revenue of $258.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $257.65 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.13 earnings per share. First Watch Restaurant Group’s revenue was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on FWRG shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Benchmark began coverage on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $23.00 target price on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $27.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.00.

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.