First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Hits New 52-Week Low After Analyst Downgrade

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $26.00 to $21.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. First Watch Restaurant Group traded as low as $12.17 and last traded at $12.32, with a volume of 10350174 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.50.

Several other research firms have also commented on FWRG. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research raised shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Guggenheim cut their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Watch Restaurant Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Watch Restaurant Group news, Director William A. Kussell sold 6,165 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.00, for a total transaction of $104,805.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $448,834. The trade was a 18.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key First Watch Restaurant Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting First Watch Restaurant Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat on the bottom line and solid top‑line growth — FWRG reported $0.24 EPS vs. a $0.08 consensus and revenue up ~20% year‑over‑year, signalling underlying demand resilience. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Company reiterated a growth plan for 2026, targeting ~12%–14% revenue growth and highlighting investments in digital marketing and menu innovation that could support traffic and unit-level sales over time. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts cut price targets across the board (Citigroup, Barclays, Guggenheim, Stephens, TD Cowen) but largely maintained buy/overweight ratings — reflecting reduced upside expectations rather than a wholesale loss of confidence. Benzinga TickerReport (Guggenheim)
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO Mel Hope announced a planned retirement later this year with a transition process underway; management frames this as orderly but investors will watch succession and ongoing financial execution. Press Release
• Negative Sentiment: FY2026 guidance disappointed some investors — same‑store sales growth guided to a slower 1%–3% and adjusted EBITDA margin guidance implies little operational leverage, removing a near‑term catalyst for margin expansion. Seeking Alpha highlights this as a material risk and flags valuation concerns (fair value estimated in the low teens). Seeking Alpha
• Negative Sentiment: Investor reaction included an intraday selloff after the outlook release; coupled with trimmed analyst targets, this increases short‑term downside risk given stretched prior valuation metrics cited by some analysts. Earnings Coverage

Institutional Trading of First Watch Restaurant Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 21.2% during the third quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 932,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,577,000 after purchasing an additional 163,102 shares during the period. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $306,000. Armistice Capital LLC purchased a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the 2nd quarter worth $5,614,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,022,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,407,000 after acquiring an additional 40,823 shares during the period. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the second quarter valued at about $18,350,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

First Watch Restaurant Group Trading Up 1.6%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $15.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.79. The firm has a market cap of $764.10 million, a PE ratio of 40.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.88.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $316.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $317.49 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 3.23%. The firm’s revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.01 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.