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

Shares of First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation, ten have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $19.75.

FWRG has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Friday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $17.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock 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 on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Down 4.0%

NASDAQ:FWRG opened at $10.91 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $667.04 million, a P/E ratio of 35.19, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.98. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 1-year low of $10.09 and a 1-year high of $20.55. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $13.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $316.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.49 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 3.20%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.01 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Watch Restaurant Group news, CEO Christopher Anthony Tomasso sold 25,062 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total value of $313,776.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 957,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,985,583.80. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO H Melville Hope III sold 7,358 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.59, for a total transaction of $92,637.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 115,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,456,222.35. The trade was a 5.98% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 74,178 shares of company stock valued at $958,411 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $64,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 61.9% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,673 shares in 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.