TD Securities Upgrades First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) to "Buy"

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at TD Securities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $22.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $21.00. TD Securities' price target suggests a potential upside of 34.72% from the company's current price.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on FWRG. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $21.00 price objective (down from $24.00) on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $21.00 target price on First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.45.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Down 4.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FWRG traded down $0.85 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $16.33. 843,416 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 657,788. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $19.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.23. The firm has a market cap of $991.23 million, a P/E ratio of 49.49, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.54. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 52-week low of $12.90 and a 52-week high of $25.98.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $263.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $262.82 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 2.09% and a return on equity of 3.61%. The firm's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.04 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Watch Restaurant Group

In other news, CEO Christopher Anthony Tomasso sold 42,039 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jay Anthony Wolszczak sold 5,743 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 37,768 shares of the company's stock, valued at $634,880.08. This represents a 13.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Watch Restaurant Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FWRG. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 68.7% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,455 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. State of Wyoming raised its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 212.6% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 3,214 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 2,186 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group during the 4th quarter valued at $81,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the 4th quarter worth $86,000. 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.