First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $23.30.

FWRG has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Performance

First Watch Restaurant Group stock opened at $21.39 on Friday. First Watch Restaurant Group has a fifty-two week low of $12.90 and a fifty-two week high of $25.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $19.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.44. The stock has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.54.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $251.61 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $256.17 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 3.61% and a net margin of 2.09%. First Watch Restaurant Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.09 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Advent Partners Gpe Viii Limit sold 8,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.76, for a total value of $158,080,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,189,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,190,131.84. This trade represents a 29.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 5.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,674,000. Arizona State Retirement System purchased a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group in the fourth quarter worth about $228,000. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 38.1% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 45,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $846,000 after acquiring an additional 12,528 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 68.7% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 309,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,766,000 after acquiring an additional 58,448 shares in the last quarter. 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, 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.