First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Trading Down 5.4% – Should You Sell?

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) shares fell 5.4% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $11.60 and last traded at $11.6220. 95,725 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 1,424,297 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.29.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FWRG. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of First Watch Restaurant Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Citigroup dropped their target price 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. Finally, Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Watch Restaurant Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.56.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $690.53 million, a PE ratio of 38.59, a P/E/G ratio of 18.80 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $12.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.06.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FWRG. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 67.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 54,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $903,000 after purchasing an additional 21,830 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 31.8% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 22,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 5,497 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 1.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 45,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $730,000 after buying an additional 724 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 45.8% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 73,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,185,000 after buying an additional 23,205 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 43.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 72,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,158,000 after acquiring an additional 21,846 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.