First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Freedom Capital

Freedom Capital upgraded shares of First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on FWRG. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $14.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Watch Restaurant Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.27.

First Watch Restaurant Group Trading Down 1.9%

NASDAQ FWRG opened at $13.09 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $807.00 million, a PE ratio of 46.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.90 and a beta of 1.03. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 1-year low of $9.97 and a 1-year high of $19.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.37.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.02). First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 1.38% and a return on equity of 2.85%. The firm had revenue of $330.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $329.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.01) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of First Watch Restaurant Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA acquired a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the 1st quarter valued at $263,000. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the 1st quarter worth $1,689,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 76.7% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,052,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,029,000 after acquiring an additional 456,976 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 67.9% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 77,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $811,000 after acquiring an additional 31,281 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 35.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 48,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $506,000 after purchasing an additional 12,598 shares during the last quarter. 96.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.