First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Trading 6.5% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) traded up 6.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $27.00 to $28.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. First Watch Restaurant Group traded as high as $17.83 and last traded at $17.92. 223,686 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 550,294 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.83.

Several other analysts have also commented on FWRG. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Tuesday. TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.36.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,095,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 59.0% during the fourth quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,582,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,057,000 after purchasing an additional 958,417 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the fourth quarter worth about $15,506,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC purchased a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the fourth quarter worth about $12,732,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,351,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,764,000 after purchasing an additional 479,741 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Up 1.2 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of 51.64, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $19.89 and its 200-day moving average is $18.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.01). First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 3.61% and a net margin of 2.09%. The company had revenue of $263.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $262.82 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.04 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current 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.