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

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded First Watch Restaurant Group from “strong sell” to “sell,” while broader analyst sentiment remains more positive with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $18.56.
• FWRG opened at $12.42, near the lower end of its 52-week range. The company’s latest quarterly revenue rose 15.2% year over year to $354.67 million, but EPS of $0.04 fell short of estimates by $0.01.
• Institutional investors hold 96.11% of the company, with Vanguard, Riverbridge Partners, Stephens Investment Management and GW&K all recently increasing their positions.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also commented on FWRG. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $14.00 price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Benchmark cut their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $18.56.

First Watch Restaurant Group Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ FWRG opened at $12.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 1-year low of $9.97 and a 1-year high of $19.53. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $12.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.77. The company has a market capitalization of $766.44 million, a PE ratio of 42.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 20.75 and a beta of 1.03.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.01). First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 1.35% and a return on equity of 2.85%. The firm had revenue of $354.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $351.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. First Watch Restaurant Group's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FWRG. Royce & Associates LP bought a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,006,000. Riverbridge Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 90.8% in the first quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC now owns 2,091,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,921,000 after acquiring an additional 995,671 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,367,051 shares of the company's stock worth $20,615,000 after acquiring an additional 434,987 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,320,929 shares of the company's stock worth $50,080,000 after acquiring an additional 432,634 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 2,032,631 shares of the company's stock worth $30,653,000 after acquiring an additional 311,938 shares during the period. 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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