First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Upgraded to “Buy” at TD Securities

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) was upgraded by equities research analysts at TD Securities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $22.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $21.00. TD Securities’ target price points to a potential upside of 32.13% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also commented on FWRG. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $21.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective (down previously from $24.00) on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Watch Restaurant Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.36.

First Watch Restaurant Group Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of FWRG stock opened at $16.65 on Tuesday. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 1 year low of $12.90 and a 1 year high of $25.98. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.46, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.91.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.01). First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 2.09% and a return on equity of 3.61%. The company had revenue of $263.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $262.82 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jay Anthony Wolszczak sold 5,743 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total value of $96,539.83. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 37,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $634,880.08. The trade was a 13.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher Anthony Tomasso sold 42,039 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total value of $706,675.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 389,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,553,075.92. This trade represents a 9.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 49,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $770,000 after acquiring an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 68.7% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Mariner LLC raised its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 21,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 78,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,463,000 after buying an additional 2,033 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, 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.