First Watch Restaurant Group’s (FWRG) Overweight Rating Reiterated at Stephens

Stephens restated their overweight rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $21.00 price target on the stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. 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 report on Wednesday, February 25th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $14.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.25.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ FWRG opened at $12.10 on Wednesday. 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 has a 52 week low of $10.09 and a 52 week high of $19.53. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $12.04 and its 200 day moving average is $15.00. The company has a market cap of $745.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.22, a PEG ratio of 6.23 and a beta of 1.11.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $330.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $329.35 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 1.38% and a return on equity of 2.85%. The business’s revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.01) EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jay Anthony Wolszczak sold 6,998 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.59, for a total value of $88,104.82. Following the transaction, the insider owned 232,091 shares in the company, valued at $2,922,025.69. The trade was a 2.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Matthew Eisenacher sold 6,070 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.59, for a total transaction of $76,421.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 69,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $881,085.97. The trade was a 7.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 68,013 shares of company stock worth $853,606 over the last quarter. 6.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 96.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,957,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,477,000 after acquiring an additional 1,946,084 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,320,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,080,000 after acquiring an additional 432,634 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 19.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,084,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,328,000 after acquiring an additional 508,704 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in 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 valued at $37,468,000 after acquiring an additional 796,191 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,281,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,589,000 after acquiring an additional 269,726 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

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.