Comparing CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) & First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG)

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) and First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares CAVA Group and First Watch Restaurant Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CAVA Group	5.88%	9.10%	5.24%
First Watch Restaurant Group	2.09%	3.61%	1.53%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for CAVA Group and First Watch Restaurant Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CAVA Group	0	8	8	0	2.50
First Watch Restaurant Group	0	2	7	1	2.90

CAVA Group currently has a consensus target price of $142.13, indicating a potential upside of 26.11%. First Watch Restaurant Group has a consensus target price of $23.30, indicating a potential upside of 18.21%. Given CAVA Group’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe CAVA Group is more favorable than First Watch Restaurant Group.

Volatility & Risk

CAVA Group has a beta of 3.21, suggesting that its share price is 221% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Watch Restaurant Group has a beta of 0.89, suggesting that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

73.2% of CAVA Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.1% of First Watch Restaurant Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.1% of CAVA Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.0% of First Watch Restaurant Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares CAVA Group and First Watch Restaurant Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CAVA Group	$913.49 million	14.14	$13.28 million	$0.46	245.02
First Watch Restaurant Group	$997.25 million	1.20	$25.39 million	$0.33	59.73

First Watch Restaurant Group has higher revenue and earnings than CAVA Group. First Watch Restaurant Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than CAVA Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

CAVA Group beats First Watch Restaurant Group on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CAVA Group

CAVA Group, Inc. owns and operates a chain of restaurants under the CAVA brand in the United States. The company also offers dips, spreads, and dressings through grocery stores. In addition, the company provides online and mobile ordering platforms. Cava Group, Inc. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Washington, the District of Columbia.

About First Watch Restaurant Group

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates and franchises restaurants under the First Watch trade name in the United States. The company was formerly known as AI Fresh Super Holdco, Inc. and changed its name to First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. in December 2019. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is based in Bradenton, Florida.