First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Price Target Lowered to $22.00 at Benchmark

Key Points

• Price target lowered to $22 by Benchmark (from $24) while the firm keeps a "buy" rating — the new target implies roughly a 72.6% upside from the current ~ $12.75 share price; MarketBeat's consensus target is $19.58 with a "Moderate Buy" consensus.
• Quarterly results showed an EPS beat as First Watch reported $0.24 vs. $0.08 expected and revenue of $316.35M (slightly below estimates) with revenue up 20.2% year‑over‑year and thin net margins.
• Notable insider selling occurred recently (CEO sold 25,062 shares; insiders sold 74,178 shares worth ~$958k over three months) while institutional investors hold about 96% of the stock.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by analysts at Benchmark from $24.00 to $22.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Benchmark's target price suggests a potential upside of 72.55% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded First Watch Restaurant Group from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Stephens dropped their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $21.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Watch Restaurant Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $19.58.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FWRG opened at $12.75 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $12.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.31. First Watch Restaurant Group has a twelve month low of $10.09 and a twelve month high of $20.55. The company has a market cap of $785.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.13, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.16. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 3.20% and a net margin of 1.59%.The firm had revenue of $316.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $317.49 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.01 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Christopher Anthony Tomasso sold 25,062 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total value of $313,776.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 957,315 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,985,583.80. This trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO H Melville Hope III sold 3,878 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total value of $48,552.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 111,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,399,573.24. This trade represents a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 74,178 shares of company stock worth $958,411. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FWRG. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 67.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 54,267 shares of the company's stock worth $903,000 after purchasing an additional 21,830 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 5,497 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 1.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 45,531 shares of the company's stock worth $730,000 after acquiring an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 45.8% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 73,882 shares of the company's stock worth $1,185,000 after acquiring an additional 23,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 43.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 72,166 shares of the company's stock worth $1,158,000 after acquiring an additional 21,846 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 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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