First Watch Restaurant Group Independent Director Acquires 184% More Stock

Investors who take an interest in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) should definitely note that the Independent Director, Charles Jemley, recently paid US$16.50 per share to buy US$248k worth of the stock. We reckon that's a good sign, especially since the purchase boosted their holding by 184%.

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First Watch Restaurant Group Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the CEO, President & Director, Christopher Tomasso, for US$707k worth of shares, at about US$16.81 per share. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$17.25, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. We note that the biggest single sale was only 14% of Christopher Tomasso's holding.

Over the last year we saw more insider selling of First Watch Restaurant Group shares, than buying. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

Check out our latest analysis for First Watch Restaurant Group

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Insider Ownership

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. First Watch Restaurant Group insiders own about US$15m worth of shares. That equates to 1.5% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The First Watch Restaurant Group Insider Transactions Indicate?

The stark truth for First Watch Restaurant Group is that there has been more insider selling than insider buying in the last three months. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing First Watch Restaurant Group. For example - First Watch Restaurant Group has 3 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

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For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.