First Watch Restaurant Group’s (FWRG) Buy Rating Reiterated at TD Securities

TD Securities reiterated their buy rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $19.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on FWRG. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Stephens cut their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Benchmark cut their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $26.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Guggenheim cut their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Watch Restaurant Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $21.36.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Up 0.1%

FWRG opened at $14.93 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $910.63 million, a PE ratio of 45.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.90. 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 52 week low of $12.90 and a 52 week high of $22.71. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.43.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by ($0.05). First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 2.09% and a return on equity of 3.61%. The firm had revenue of $282.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $282.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder International L.P. Advent sold 4,500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.70, for a total value of $66,150,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,689,784 shares in the company, valued at $215,939,824.80. The trade was a 23.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Anthony Tomasso sold 42,039 shares of the business’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 $706,675.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 389,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,553,075.92. The trade was a 9.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,547,782 shares of company stock worth $66,953,215. 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 added to or reduced their stakes in FWRG. Barclays PLC grew its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 505.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 172,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,690,000 after purchasing an additional 144,014 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 98.9% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 7,547 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 44.2% in the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 947,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,552,000 after purchasing an additional 290,173 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 37.7% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 693,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,903,000 after purchasing an additional 189,681 shares during the period. Finally, SRH Advisors LLC grew its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 84.3% in the 4th quarter. SRH Advisors LLC now owns 12,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 5,575 shares during the period. 96.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.