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

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $19.75.

Several research firms have recently commented on FWRG. Citigroup cut their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th.

Key First Watch Restaurant Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting First Watch Restaurant Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results showed an EPS beat (reported $0.24 vs. $0.08 consensus) and ~20% year-over-year revenue growth, which supports the company’s near-term fundamentals. Earnings & company page
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains largely constructive — multiple Buy/Overweight ratings and an average target (~$19.75) sit well above the current price, indicating upside if execution continues. Analyst note
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional ownership is very high (~96%), which can reduce retail-driven volatility but means flows from large holders will disproportionately move the stock. Institutional holdings
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and liquidity: FWRG sits below its 50- and 200-day moving averages and near its 52-week low; balance-sheet ratios (low current/quick ratios) and modest near-term margins mean upside may require sustained margin improvement. Financial snapshot
• Negative Sentiment: CFO insider sale: CFO H. Melville Hope III sold 7,358 shares at $12.59 on March 10 (≈6% reduction in his stake). High‑profile officer selling often raises short-term investor concern. CFO Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple other insider trims: Several executives (Jay Wolszczak, Matthew Eisenacher, John D. Jones, Laura Sorensen) sold between ~4,600–7,000 shares each at $12.59 on March 10, collectively reducing positions and pressuring market sentiment. Sample Form 4

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

Shares of FWRG opened at $11.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.29. First Watch Restaurant Group has a fifty-two week low of $11.44 and a fifty-two week high of $20.55. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.34. The company has a market capitalization of $704.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.92.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $316.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $317.49 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 3.20% and a net margin of 1.59%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.01 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at First Watch Restaurant Group

In other First Watch Restaurant Group news, insider Jay Anthony Wolszczak sold 6,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.59, for a total value of $88,104.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 232,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,922,025.69. This trade represents a 2.93% 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. Also, insider Matthew Eisenacher sold 6,070 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.59, for a total transaction of $76,421.30. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 69,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $881,085.97. This trade represents a 7.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,923 shares of company stock valued at $479,458. 6.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Watch Restaurant Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 932,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,577,000 after acquiring an additional 163,102 shares during the period. Deepwater Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Deepwater Asset Management LLC now owns 724,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,335,000 after acquiring an additional 93,662 shares during the period. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $306,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $18,350,000. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the second quarter worth $5,614,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.