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

Shares of First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $24.83.

A number of brokerages recently commented on FWRG. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Watch Restaurant Group

In other news, Director William A. Kussell sold 8,386 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.10, for a total transaction of $185,330.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $274,238.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 29,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $718,000 after buying an additional 1,783 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the first quarter worth about $65,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 78,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,577,000 after purchasing an additional 2,763 shares during the period. Finally, Vancity Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Vancity Investment Management Ltd now owns 21,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 2,808 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

FWRG opened at $16.95 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.61, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $20.09 and a 200-day moving average of $21.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 12-month low of $16.19 and a 12-month high of $25.98.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.02. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 4.15% and a net margin of 2.52%. The firm had revenue of $242.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $245.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Watch Restaurant Group Company Profile

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.