First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Trading Up 6.9% – What’s Next?

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG)’s stock price rose 6.9% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $12.87 and last traded at $12.78. Approximately 1,305,336 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 24% from the average daily volume of 1,727,675 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.96.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their price objective 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. Stephens cut 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. Zacks Research raised First Watch Restaurant Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen raised First Watch Restaurant Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.08.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Up 7.5%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $786.26 million, a P/E ratio of 41.48, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $15.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.60.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William A. 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 transaction of $104,805.00. Following the sale, the director owned 26,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $448,834. This represents a 18.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in 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 worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,316 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $64,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position 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 valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,673 shares during the period. 96.11% of the stock is 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.