First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation, ten have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $19.25.

FWRG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Guggenheim lowered their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $14.00 target price on First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Barclays lowered their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Citigroup lowered their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered First Watch Restaurant Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

Shares of FWRG opened at $11.50 on Thursday. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 52-week low of $10.09 and a 52-week high of $19.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.29. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $11.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.38. The firm has a market cap of $708.98 million, a PE ratio of 41.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 1.11.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.02). First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 1.38% and a return on equity of 2.85%. The business had revenue of $330.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $329.35 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.01) earnings per share. First Watch Restaurant Group’s quarterly revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at First Watch Restaurant Group

In other news, insider Laura Anne Sorensen sold 4,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.59, for a total transaction of $59,575.88. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 239,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,009,639.50. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO H Melville Hope III sold 7,358 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.59, for a total value of $92,637.22. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 115,665 shares in the company, valued at $1,456,222.35. The trade was a 5.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 68,013 shares of company stock valued at $853,606 over the last three months. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FWRG. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 67.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 54,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $903,000 after buying an additional 21,830 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 31.8% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 45,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $730,000 after buying an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 45.8% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 73,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,185,000 after buying an additional 23,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 43.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 72,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,158,000 after buying an additional 21,846 shares during the last quarter. 96.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About First Watch Restaurant Group

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.