Penn Capital Management Company LLC Buys 331,594 Shares of First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. $FWRG

Penn Capital Management Company LLC increased its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) by 29.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,472,751 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 331,594 shares during the quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC’s holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group were worth $19,016,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the fourth quarter valued at $66,000. 96.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Performance

Shares of FWRG opened at $12.51 on Friday. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.97 and a 52-week high of $19.15. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.35. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $771.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 20.85 and a beta of 1.03.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $354.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $351.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised First Watch Restaurant Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Freedom Capital upgraded First Watch Restaurant Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded First Watch Restaurant Group from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $14.00 price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.56.

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.