First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Hits New 52-Week Low on Analyst Downgrade

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday after Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on the stock from $22.00 to $18.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the stock. First Watch Restaurant Group traded as low as $16.17 and last traded at $16.26, with a volume of 94689 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $16.95.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Watch Restaurant Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director William A. Kussell sold 8,386 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $274,238.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 24.0% during the 1st quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 3,480 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 31,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 4,294 shares during the period. Vancity Investment Management Ltd raised its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 60.8% during the 1st quarter. Vancity Investment Management Ltd now owns 35,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $863,000 after purchasing an additional 13,256 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC bought a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the 1st quarter valued at $226,000. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 17.6% during the 1st quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 19,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 2,900 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Down 3.9 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $983.43 million, a P/E ratio of 44.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $20.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.60.

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

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.