Laura Anne Sorensen Sells 4,732 Shares of First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Stock

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) insider Laura Anne Sorensen sold 4,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.59, for a total transaction of $59,575.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 239,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,009,639.50. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Down 6.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:FWRG traded down $0.76 during trading on Thursday, reaching $11.69. 1,754,873 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,801,113. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.56 and a 1-year high of $20.55. The firm has a market cap of $714.42 million, a P/E ratio of 37.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.92.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last posted 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. First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 3.20%. The business had revenue of $316.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $317.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.01 earnings per share. First Watch Restaurant Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FWRG. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,320,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,080,000 after purchasing an additional 432,634 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,576,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,849,000 after buying an additional 133,402 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 51.7% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,335,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,468,000 after buying an additional 796,191 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,281,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,589,000 after buying an additional 269,726 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,213,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,509,000 after buying an additional 39,648 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FWRG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays cut their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Watch Restaurant Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.75.

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.