First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Trading Up 6.9% – Here’s What Happened

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG)’s share price traded up 6.9% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $12.87 and last traded at $12.78. 1,305,336 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 24% from the average session volume of 1,727,675 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FWRG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.85.

First Watch Restaurant Group Trading Down 0.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $790.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.92. The business’s fifty day moving average is $15.50 and its 200 day moving average is $16.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.16. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 3.20% and a net margin of 1.59%.The firm had revenue of $316.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $317.49 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.01 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William A. Kussell sold 6,165 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.00, for a total value of $104,805.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,402 shares in the company, valued at $448,834. This trade represents a 18.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FWRG. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $20,318,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $18,350,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 51.7% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,335,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,468,000 after buying an additional 796,191 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 2,796.3% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 813,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,716,000 after acquiring an additional 784,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC increased its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 183.9% in the fourth quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 1,036,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,631,000 after acquiring an additional 671,455 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

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.