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

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.27.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FWRG. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $24.00 price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $21.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $21.00 target price (down from $24.00) on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

NASDAQ FWRG opened at $16.86 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 51.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $19.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.54. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 52-week low of $12.90 and a 52-week high of $25.98.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.01). First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 2.09% and a return on equity of 3.61%. The company had revenue of $263.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $262.82 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.04 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Watch Restaurant Group news, insider Jay Anthony Wolszczak sold 5,743 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total value of $96,539.83. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $634,880.08. This represents a 13.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Christopher Anthony Tomasso sold 42,039 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total transaction of $706,675.59. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 389,832 shares in the company, valued at $6,553,075.92. The trade was a 9.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Watch Restaurant Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 68.7% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. State of Wyoming increased its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 212.6% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 3,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 2,186 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the 4th quarter worth about $81,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $86,000. 96.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.