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

Key Points

• First Watch Restaurant Group has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 12 analysts, with an average 1-year price target of $19.00. The breakdown includes nine buy ratings, one strong buy, one hold, and one sell.
• Recent analyst updates were mixed, including Stephens maintaining an overweight rating with a $21 target and Freedom Capital upgrading the stock to strong-buy. Benchmark also trimmed its target to $22 while keeping a buy rating.
• The company’s latest quarterly results showed revenue growth of 17.3% year over year to $330.96 million, but EPS of -$0.04 missed estimates. Institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and other investors holding 96.11% of the shares.

Shares of First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $19.00.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on FWRG shares. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Freedom Capital raised First Watch Restaurant Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Watch Restaurant Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 21st. Benchmark reduced their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $14.00 target price on First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Tuesday, May 5th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 96.7% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,957,697 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,477,000 after buying an additional 1,946,084 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 81.4% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,357,950 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,191,000 after acquiring an additional 1,507,074 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $20,318,000. Riverbridge Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 90.8% in the 1st quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC now owns 2,091,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,921,000 after acquiring an additional 995,671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 113.7% in the 1st quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,481,777 shares of the company's stock worth $15,529,000 after purchasing an additional 788,436 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.11% of the company's stock.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FWRG opened at $12.18 on Friday. First Watch Restaurant Group has a twelve month low of $9.97 and a twelve month high of $19.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $750.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.50, a PEG ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $11.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.11.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.02). First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 2.85% and a net margin of 1.38%.The business had revenue of $330.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $329.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.01) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Watch Restaurant Group Company Profile

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc NASDAQ: FWRG operates a specialty daytime dining concept focused on breakfast, brunch and lunch. The company's casual, full-service cafés emphasize fresh ingredients, made-to-order entrées and a seasonally driven menu that ranges from omelets and Benedicts to salads, skillets and afternoon sandwiches. First Watch positions itself as a daytime-only destination, with most locations opening early morning and closing by mid-afternoon.

Founded in 1983 by Ken Pendery and John Sullivan in Pacific Grove, California, First Watch began as a single café and gradually expanded through company-owned and select franchised locations.

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