First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

FWRG has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised First Watch Restaurant Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.91.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FWRG opened at $16.57 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of 207.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.88. First Watch Restaurant Group has a fifty-two week low of $12.90 and a fifty-two week high of $22.71.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.03). First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 0.42% and a return on equity of 0.83%. The company had revenue of $316.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.31 million. Analysts expect that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 8,815.8% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,675 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 207.6% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,316 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 61.9% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 435.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 5,918 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

First Watch Restaurant Group Company Profile

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.