First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) have received an average rating of “Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.73.

FWRG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Thursday, April 24th. TD Cowen raised shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, TD Securities upgraded First Watch Restaurant Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Performance

FWRG stock opened at $18.35 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.69. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.61, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. First Watch Restaurant Group has a fifty-two week low of $12.90 and a fifty-two week high of $25.98.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $263.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $262.82 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christopher Anthony Tomasso sold 42,039 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $6,553,075.92. This represents a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jay Anthony Wolszczak sold 5,743 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total transaction of $96,539.83. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $634,880.08. This represents a 13.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FWRG. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 30.7% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 86,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,443,000 after purchasing an additional 20,361 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 203.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 238,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,974,000 after buying an additional 160,040 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $259,000. Avory & Company LLC acquired a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the first quarter worth approximately $5,687,000. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 19.0% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 2,083 shares in the last quarter. 96.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.