First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Shares Up 5.4% – Here’s What Happened

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG)’s stock price shot up 5.4% on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $11.78 and last traded at $11.87. Approximately 422,252 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 1,429,875 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.26.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FWRG. Freedom Capital upgraded First Watch Restaurant Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.33.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.77. The stock has a market cap of $730.03 million, a P/E ratio of 40.79, a PEG ratio of 20.07 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.27.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $354.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $351.57 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 1.35% and a return on equity of 2.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 16.1% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 29,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 4,050 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $70,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 325.4% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,702 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP increased its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 105.3% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 285,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,674,000 after acquiring an additional 146,196 shares during the last quarter. 96.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Watch Restaurant Group Company Profile

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc operates a chain of daytime restaurants specializing in breakfast, brunch and lunch. Its restaurants serve made-to-order meals prepared with fresh ingredients, including omelets, pancakes, avocado toast, salads, sandwiches and other contemporary daytime fare. The company also offers coffee, fresh juices and other beverages.

First Watch restaurants are designed around a daytime dining experience and generally operate during breakfast and lunch hours rather than offering dinner service.