Wall Street Zen Downgrades First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) to Strong Sell

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Benchmark decreased their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $14.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of First Watch Restaurant Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.78.

First Watch Restaurant Group Trading Up 2.2%

NASDAQ:FWRG opened at $12.45 on Friday. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 1 year low of $9.97 and a 1 year high of $19.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $11.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $767.54 million, a P/E ratio of 44.47, a P/E/G ratio of 6.30 and a beta of 1.03.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $330.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $329.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.01) earnings per share. First Watch Restaurant Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.2 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $64,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $66,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 61.9% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 17,042.4% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 5,624 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

First Watch Restaurant Group Company Profile

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.