First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Freedom Capital

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) was upgraded by analysts at Freedom Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also commented on FWRG. Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded First Watch Restaurant Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.27.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Down 1.9%

FWRG stock opened at $13.09 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.37. First Watch Restaurant Group has a fifty-two week low of $9.97 and a fifty-two week high of $19.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $807.00 million, a P/E ratio of 46.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.90 and a beta of 1.03.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $330.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $329.35 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 1.38% and a return on equity of 2.85%. The company’s revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.01) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of FWRG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 96.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,957,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,477,000 after acquiring an additional 1,946,084 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the third quarter worth about $20,318,000. Riverbridge Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 90.8% in the first quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC now owns 2,091,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,921,000 after purchasing an additional 995,671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 113.7% in the first quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,481,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,529,000 after purchasing an additional 788,436 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

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.