First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Lowered to Strong Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• First Watch Restaurant Group was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from “sell” to “strong sell”, even as other analysts remain more positive on the stock.
• The broader analyst view is still fairly constructive: the company carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with a $18.78 average price target, compared with a recent share price of about $12.45.
• The company’s latest earnings showed revenue growth of 17.3% year over year, but EPS missed estimates, coming in at ($0.04) versus expectations of ($0.02).

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $14.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of First Watch Restaurant Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $18.78.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:FWRG opened at $12.45 on Friday. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 1 year low of $9.97 and a 1 year high of $19.53. The company has a market capitalization of $767.54 million, a PE ratio of 44.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.30 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $11.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 67.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 54,267 shares of the company's stock valued at $903,000 after purchasing an additional 21,830 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 31.8% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 22,766 shares of the company's stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 5,497 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 1.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 45,531 shares of the company's stock worth $730,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 45.8% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 73,882 shares of the company's stock worth $1,185,000 after purchasing an additional 23,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 43.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 72,166 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,158,000 after purchasing an additional 21,846 shares during the period. 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 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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