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

Key Points

• First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has received an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy," with two sell recommendations and eight buy ratings among eleven brokerages covering the stock.
• Major shareholder Advent sold 4.4 million shares at an average price of $17.67, resulting in a significant reduction of their ownership in the company by 45.41%.
• First Watch recently reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing estimates, but had revenue that was 19.1% higher year-over-year, totaling $307.89 million.

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $21.0909.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut First Watch Restaurant Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Zacks Research cut First Watch Restaurant Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th.

Insider Activity

In other First Watch Restaurant Group news, major shareholder International L.P. Advent sold 4,400,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.67, for a total value of $77,748,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,289,784 shares in the company, valued at $93,470,483.28. The trade was a 45.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Watch Restaurant Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 8,815.8% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,694 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,675 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 207.6% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,950 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,316 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 61.9% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,375 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,673 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 1,617.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,445 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 5,128 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming raised its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 83.0% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 5,882 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 2,668 shares during the period. 96.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Up 7.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:FWRG opened at $17.52 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 292.05, a PEG ratio of 5.32 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 12-month low of $12.90 and a 12-month high of $22.71. The business's 50 day moving average is $17.22 and its 200 day moving average is $17.03.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.04). First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 0.37% and a return on equity of 0.69%. The company had revenue of $307.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $304.94 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 19.1% on a year-over-year basis. First Watch Restaurant Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.

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