First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Shares Down 4.7% – Here’s What Happened

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) shares dropped 4.7% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $10.84 and last traded at $10.9250. Approximately 434,914 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 1,711,286 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FWRG. Stephens cut their target price 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, February 25th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Friday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $17.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Watch Restaurant Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.75.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Down 0.7%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $14.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $696.08 million, a PE ratio of 36.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Insider Transactions at First Watch Restaurant Group

In other First Watch Restaurant Group news, Director William A. Kussell sold 6,165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.00, for a total transaction of $104,805.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,402 shares in the company, valued at $448,834. The trade was 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 this link. Also, insider Jay Anthony Wolszczak sold 6,998 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 232,091 shares in the company, valued at $2,922,025.69. The trade was a 2.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 74,178 shares of company stock valued at $958,411 over the last quarter. Insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Watch Restaurant Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the third quarter worth $30,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the 4th quarter valued at $64,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the 4th quarter valued at $66,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 61.9% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 1,673 shares in the last quarter. 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.