First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) Stock Rated "Moderate Buy" by Wall Street Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts rate First Watch Restaurant Group “Moderate Buy”: Eight analysts recommend buying the stock, one gives a strong-buy rating, while two rate it hold or sell. The average 12-month price target is $18.56, versus a recent price of $10.38.
• The company’s latest quarter showed 15.2% year-over-year revenue growth to $354.67 million, exceeding estimates, though EPS of $0.04 fell short of the $0.05 consensus.
• Institutional ownership is high at 96.11%. Major investors including BlackRock, Manufacturers Life Insurance, and Bank of New York Mellon recently established significant positions in the company.

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the eleven analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $18.56.

FWRG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Freedom Capital raised First Watch Restaurant Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded First Watch Restaurant Group from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded First Watch Restaurant Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FWRG opened at $10.38 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.27. The company has a fifty day moving average of $11.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $640.55 million, a PE ratio of 35.79, a P/E/G ratio of 16.92 and a beta of 1.03. First Watch Restaurant Group has a fifty-two week low of $9.88 and a fifty-two week high of $18.82.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $354.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $351.57 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 1.35% and a return on equity of 2.85%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the second quarter worth $58,445,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the second quarter valued at about $49,291,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the second quarter worth about $47,938,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 19.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,084,886 shares of the company's stock worth $32,328,000 after buying an additional 508,704 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 2,032,631 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,653,000 after acquiring an additional 311,938 shares during 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 is a U.S.-based restaurant company that operates full-service daytime dining restaurants under the First Watch brand. Its restaurants serve breakfast, brunch and lunch, with made-to-order menu items such as omelets, eggs, pancakes, avocado toast, sandwiches, salads and fresh juices. The company emphasizes fresh ingredients, seasonal offerings and hospitality in a daytime-only operating model.

First Watch restaurants are located across the United States, primarily in suburban and high-traffic retail areas.

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