Analysts Set First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) Price Target at $19.75

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $19.75.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on FWRG shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Friday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $17.00 price target for the company. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Watch Restaurant Group news, CFO H Melville Hope III sold 7,358 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.59, for a total value of $92,637.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 115,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,456,222.35. The trade was a 5.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jay Anthony Wolszczak sold 6,998 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.59, for a total value of $88,104.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 232,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,922,025.69. This represents a 2.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 35,923 shares of company stock worth $479,458 over the last ninety days. 6.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Watch Restaurant Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 45,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $730,000 after buying an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 46,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $695,000 after acquiring an additional 832 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 23,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 934 shares in the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 9,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 16,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 1,606 shares during the last quarter. 96.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

First Watch Restaurant Group stock opened at $11.93 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The company has a market capitalization of $729.40 million, a PE ratio of 38.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.92. First Watch Restaurant Group has a one year low of $11.44 and a one year high of $20.55.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $317.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.