First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Price Target Raised to $24.00 at Stephens

Key Points

• Stephens has raised the price target for First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) from $23.00 to $24.00, indicating a potential upside of 27.22% from the previous close, with an "overweight" rating on the stock.
• First Watch reported a missed earnings estimate for Q2, with earnings per share of $0.03 compared to the consensus estimate of $0.07, although its revenue of $307.89 million exceeded estimates.
• Insider activity saw a significant shareholder, Advent International L.P., selling 4.5 million shares at an average price of $14.70, leading to a 23.45% decrease in their ownership position.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG - Free Report) had its price objective upped by Stephens from $23.00 to $24.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on FWRG. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $17.00 target price on First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $21.09.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Down 0.7%

FWRG stock traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $17.66. 274,500 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 843,951. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $16.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.78. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 12-month low of $12.90 and a 12-month high of $22.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 295.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $307.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $304.94 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 0.69% and a net margin of 0.37%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 19.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.14 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder International L.P. Advent sold 4,500,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.70, for a total transaction of $66,150,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 14,689,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $215,939,824.80. The trade was a 23.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 6.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Watch Restaurant Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. bought a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the 4th quarter worth about $200,000. LPL Financial LLC bought a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $470,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,351,614 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,764,000 after acquiring an additional 479,741 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 847,870 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,779,000 after acquiring an additional 34,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 28,060 shares of the company's stock valued at $522,000 after acquiring an additional 3,450 shares in the last quarter. 96.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.