First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Sets New 12-Month Low After Earnings Miss

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $12.90 and last traded at $15.33, with a volume of 5588919 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.61.

The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.04 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $282.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $282.98 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 3.61% and a net margin of 2.09%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.12 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on FWRG shares. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $21.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays cut their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen raised First Watch Restaurant Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $22.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, TD Securities upgraded First Watch Restaurant Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First Watch Restaurant Group has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $22.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jay Anthony Wolszczak sold 5,743 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total value of $96,539.83. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $634,880.08. The trade was a 13.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Christopher Anthony Tomasso sold 42,039 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total transaction of $706,675.59. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 389,832 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,553,075.92. This represents a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 6.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of First Watch Restaurant Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FWRG. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the fourth quarter worth $39,095,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 59.0% in the 4th quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,582,303 shares of the company's stock worth $48,057,000 after buying an additional 958,417 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $15,506,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $12,732,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,351,614 shares of the company's stock worth $43,764,000 after acquiring an additional 479,741 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.11% of the company's stock.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Down 17.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $17.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.76. The stock has a market cap of $934.65 million, a P/E ratio of 46.46, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.01.

About First Watch Restaurant Group

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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