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

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $26.00.

FWRG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays upped their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Wednesday.

Insider Transactions at First Watch Restaurant Group

In other First Watch Restaurant Group news, CEO Christopher Anthony Tomasso sold 121,995 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.45, for a total transaction of $2,982,777.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 431,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,559,245.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Christopher Anthony Tomasso sold 121,995 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.45, for a total transaction of $2,982,777.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 431,871 shares in the company, valued at $10,559,245.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director William A. Kussell sold 15,000 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.53, for a total transaction of $307,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $426,921.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,091,741 shares of company stock valued at $170,160,841. 4.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FWRG. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,478,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,716,000 after acquiring an additional 6,494 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 27.1% in the first quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 1,442,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,829,000 after buying an additional 307,925 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,408,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,310,000 after acquiring an additional 175,074 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,356,145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,259,000 after acquiring an additional 44,240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 0.5% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,233,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,325,000 after purchasing an additional 5,889 shares during the last quarter. 96.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

Shares of FWRG stock opened at $22.57 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $23.98 and its 200-day moving average is $20.46. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 1 year low of $14.34 and a 1 year high of $25.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.05, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.11.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04. The business had revenue of $244.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $237.20 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 4.62%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 31.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.01) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.