First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Given New $21.00 Price Target at Citigroup

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) had its target price lowered by Citigroup from $26.00 to $21.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

FWRG has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays lowered their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Watch Restaurant Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.08.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

First Watch Restaurant Group stock opened at $12.52 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $764.10 million, a P/E ratio of 40.39, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50-day moving average of $15.98 and a 200-day moving average of $16.79. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 1 year low of $12.16 and a 1 year high of $21.99.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $316.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $317.49 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 3.23%. First Watch Restaurant Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.01 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other First Watch Restaurant Group news, Director William A. Kussell sold 6,165 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.00, for a total value of $104,805.00. Following the sale, the director owned 26,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $448,834. This trade represents a 18.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 6.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 207.6% in the second 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 last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the fourth quarter worth $64,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the fourth quarter worth $66,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 61.9% during the second 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 during the last quarter. 96.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting First Watch Restaurant Group

Here are the key news stories impacting First Watch Restaurant Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat on the bottom line and solid top?line growth — FWRG reported $0.24 EPS vs. a $0.08 consensus and revenue up ~20% year?over?year, signalling underlying demand resilience. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Company reiterated a growth plan for 2026, targeting ~12%–14% revenue growth and highlighting investments in digital marketing and menu innovation that could support traffic and unit-level sales over time. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts cut price targets across the board (Citigroup, Barclays, Guggenheim, Stephens, TD Cowen) but largely maintained buy/overweight ratings — reflecting reduced upside expectations rather than a wholesale loss of confidence. Benzinga TickerReport (Guggenheim)
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO Mel Hope announced a planned retirement later this year with a transition process underway; management frames this as orderly but investors will watch succession and ongoing financial execution. Press Release
• Negative Sentiment: FY2026 guidance disappointed some investors — same?store sales growth guided to a slower 1%–3% and adjusted EBITDA margin guidance implies little operational leverage, removing a near?term catalyst for margin expansion. Seeking Alpha highlights this as a material risk and flags valuation concerns (fair value estimated in the low teens). Seeking Alpha
• Negative Sentiment: Investor reaction included an intraday selloff after the outlook release; coupled with trimmed analyst targets, this increases short?term downside risk given stretched prior valuation metrics cited by some analysts. Earnings Coverage

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.