First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

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

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded First Watch Restaurant Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Citigroup lowered their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Friday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $17.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th.

First Watch Restaurant Group Trading Down 2.3%

First Watch Restaurant Group stock opened at $12.32 on Friday. First Watch Restaurant Group has a one year low of $11.44 and a one year high of $20.55. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $14.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.18. 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 $753.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.74, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.92.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.01 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at First Watch Restaurant Group

In other First Watch Restaurant Group news, insider Matthew Eisenacher sold 6,070 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.59, for a total transaction of $76,421.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 69,983 shares in the company, valued at $881,085.97. This represents a 7.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO H Melville Hope III sold 7,358 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction dated 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 $1,456,222.35. The trade was a 5.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 35,923 shares of company stock valued at $479,458. 6.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 21,830 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 5,497 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance LLC bought a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the second quarter worth $162,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 30.3% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 5,139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,022,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,407,000 after purchasing an additional 40,823 shares during the last quarter. 96.11% of the stock is owned by 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.