First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Trading Down 8.5% Following Weak Earnings

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG)’s share price fell 8.5% on Tuesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $17.17 and last traded at $16.57. 98,621 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 635,247 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.10.

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 last year, the firm posted $0.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on FWRG. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $21.00 price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.36.

Institutional Trading of First Watch Restaurant Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the 4th quarter worth $377,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 243,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,524,000 after purchasing an additional 72,829 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the fourth quarter worth about $947,000. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 159.3% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 211,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,943,000 after buying an additional 130,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 212.6% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 3,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 2,186 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of 51.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $19.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.13.

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.