First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Director William Kussell Sells 6,165 Shares

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) Director William Kussell sold 6,165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.00, for a total value of $104,805.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,402 shares in the company, valued at $448,834. This trade represents a 18.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:FWRG traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $16.16. 589,415 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,384,491. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $986.28 million, a PE ratio of 202.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.01. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $12.90 and a 1 year high of $22.71.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.03). First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 0.83% and a net margin of 0.42%.The business had revenue of $316.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.31 million. Sell-side analysts expect that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on FWRG shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.91.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 8,815.8% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,675 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the third quarter valued at $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 207.6% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,316 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 435.5% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 5,918 shares in the last quarter. 96.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.