John Daniel Jones Sells 1,697 Shares of First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Stock

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) insider John Daniel Jones sold 1,697 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total transaction of $21,246.44. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 84,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,060,757. This represents a 1.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

John Daniel Jones also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, March 10th, John Daniel Jones sold 4,600 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.59, for a total value of $57,914.00.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:FWRG opened at $12.20 on Friday. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.44 and a 1 year high of $20.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The business’s 50-day moving average is $14.86 and its 200-day moving average is $16.11. The company has a market capitalization of $745.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.92.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $316.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $317.49 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 3.20% and a net margin of 1.59%.The firm’s revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.01 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

First Watch Restaurant Group News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company beat on earnings in its Feb. 24 quarterly report (EPS $0.24 vs. $0.08 expected) and revenue rose ~20% year-over-year — the operational recovery and beat support upside potential. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street coverage is largely constructive: multiple Buy/Overweight ratings and a consensus price target (~$19.75) signal analyst confidence above current levels, which can limit downside.
• Positive Sentiment: Several hedge funds and institutional investors have increased positions in prior quarters (e.g., Stephens Investment Management, Deepwater Asset Management), indicating continued institutional interest. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Business profile: daytime-focused casual-dining concept with expanding footprint — attractive growth story but sensitive to consumer spending and labor/commodity costs. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Balance-sheet/liquidity signals are mixed (low current/quick ratios vs. modest debt-to-equity); these fundamentals could matter if macro conditions deteriorate. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Christopher Tomasso sold 25,062 shares (~$313,776 at ~$12.52), reducing his stake ~2.55% — largest and most market-visible insider sale this round. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: CFO H. Melville Hope III sold 3,878 shares (~$48,553), a ~3.35% reduction. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Other insiders (Jay Wolszczak, Matthew Eisenacher, Laura Sorensen, John D. Jones) executed modest sales on the same date (each thousands of shares), signaling coordinated/portfolio-driven selling that can pressure near-term sentiment. Read More. Read More. Read More. Read More.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FWRG. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 67.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 54,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $903,000 after purchasing an additional 21,830 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 31.8% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 22,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 5,497 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 30.3% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,000 after buying an additional 5,139 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 4.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,022,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,407,000 after buying an additional 40,823 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 17.3% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 9,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341 shares in the last quarter. 96.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FWRG. 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. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Friday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $17.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Watch Restaurant Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.75.

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.