First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) Given Average Recommendation of "Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the ten research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.73.

FWRG has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Securities upgraded First Watch Restaurant Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of America raised their target price 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. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd.

Insider Transactions at First Watch Restaurant Group

In related news, insider Jay Anthony Wolszczak sold 5,743 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total value of $96,539.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,768 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $634,880.08. This trade represents a 13.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Anthony Tomasso sold 42,039 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total transaction of $706,675.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 389,832 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,553,075.92. This represents a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 6.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 59.0% during the 4th quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,582,303 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,057,000 after purchasing an additional 958,417 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,351,614 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,764,000 after purchasing an additional 479,741 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,141,209 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,848,000 after purchasing an additional 154,784 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group during the 4th quarter valued at $39,095,000. Finally, 12 West Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 20.2% during the 4th quarter. 12 West Capital Management LP now owns 2,013,406 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,469,000 after purchasing an additional 337,920 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.11% of the company's stock.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Performance

Shares of FWRG stock traded down $0.47 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $18.93. The stock had a trading volume of 1,328,214 shares, compared to its average volume of 686,489. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $18.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.69. 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 has a one year low of $12.90 and a one year high of $25.98. The firm has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of 57.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.02.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $263.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $262.82 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.04 EPS. First Watch Restaurant Group's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 EPS 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.