Analysts Set First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) Price Target at $18.56

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $18.5556.

FWRG has been the topic of several analyst reports. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $14.00 price target on First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Benchmark dropped their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $58,445,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the second quarter worth $49,291,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the second quarter worth $47,938,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 81.4% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,357,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the third quarter valued at $20,318,000. 96.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

FWRG stock opened at $12.72 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $12.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.62. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 52-week low of $9.97 and a 52-week high of $19.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $784.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.86, a PEG ratio of 21.20 and a beta of 1.03.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 2.85% and a net margin of 1.35%.The company had revenue of $354.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $351.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.