First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Trading Down 5.3% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• First Watch shares fell 5.3% to about $10.76 in midday trading, with volume down 97% from the average session level.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $18.56, despite Guggenheim and Citigroup recently lowering their targets to $20.
• The company’s latest quarterly revenue rose 15.2% year over year to $354.67 million and exceeded estimates, but adjusted EPS of $0.04 missed consensus by $0.01. Institutional investors own approximately 96.11% of the stock.

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 5.3% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $10.87 and last traded at $10.7560. Approximately 44,005 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 97% from the average session volume of 1,417,134 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.36.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FWRG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Guggenheim reduced 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 Friday, August 7th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Citigroup dropped their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Freedom Capital upgraded First Watch Restaurant Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised First Watch Restaurant Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.56.

First Watch Restaurant Group Trading Down 8.0%

The stock has a market cap of $645.20 million, a PE ratio of 36.09, a PEG ratio of 18.92 and a beta of 1.03. The company's fifty day moving average is $12.39 and its 200-day moving average is $12.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 2.85% and a net margin of 1.35%.The firm had revenue of $354.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $351.57 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FWRG. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the second quarter valued at $58,445,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $49,291,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $47,938,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the second quarter worth approximately $13,783,000. Finally, Riverbridge Partners LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $21,921,000 after acquiring an additional 995,671 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.11% of the company's stock.

First Watch Restaurant Group Company Profile

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc is a U.S.-based restaurant company that operates full-service daytime dining restaurants under the First Watch brand. Its restaurants serve breakfast, brunch and lunch, with made-to-order menu items such as omelets, eggs, pancakes, avocado toast, sandwiches, salads and fresh juices. The company emphasizes fresh ingredients, seasonal offerings and hospitality in a daytime-only operating model.

First Watch restaurants are located across the United States, primarily in suburban and high-traffic retail areas.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.