First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $21.0909.

FWRG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded First Watch Restaurant Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Stephens raised their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Monday. Benchmark increased their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

Shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock opened at $17.93 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.25. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 52-week low of $12.90 and a 52-week high of $22.71. The company has a fifty day moving average of $17.00 and a 200-day moving average of $16.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 224.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 0.86.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $316.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.31 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 0.83% and a net margin of 0.42%. Equities research analysts expect that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at First Watch Restaurant Group

In other First Watch Restaurant Group news, major shareholder International L.P. Advent sold 4,400,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.67, for a total value of $77,748,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 5,289,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,470,483.28. The trade was a 45.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Watch Restaurant Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Penn Capital Management Company LLC raised its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 1,125,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,642,000 after purchasing an additional 119,462 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $189,000. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $20,318,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,053,000. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 5.1% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 369,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,782,000 after acquiring an additional 18,100 shares during the period. 96.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About First Watch Restaurant Group

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.