First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Trading Up 7.4% – Still a Buy?

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) rose 7.4% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $11.48 and last traded at $11.5590. Approximately 289,928 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 1,768,691 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.76.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FWRG shares. 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. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. DA Davidson started coverage on First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Friday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $17.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded First Watch Restaurant Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Stephens decreased their price target on 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.75.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $13.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.61. The firm has a market cap of $696.93 million, a P/E ratio of 36.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.29.

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

Insider Activity

In other First Watch Restaurant Group news, insider Jay Anthony Wolszczak sold 3,161 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total transaction of $39,575.72. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 228,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,866,203.60. This trade represents a 1.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Christopher Anthony Tomasso sold 25,062 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total value of $313,776.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 957,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,985,583.80. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 74,178 shares of company stock worth $958,411 over the last ninety days. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 67.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 54,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $903,000 after purchasing an additional 21,830 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in 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 worth $379,000 after buying an additional 5,497 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew 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 increased its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 45.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 43.4% in the second 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 during the period. 96.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.