First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Stock Price Expected to Rise, TD Cowen Analyst Says

Key Points

• TD Cowen raised its target price for First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) from $19.00 to $21.00, indicating a potential upside of 21.88%.
• Despite this positive outlook, other analysts like Stephens and Guggenheim have lowered their price targets to $23.00 and $22.00 respectively, while Bank of America set a target at $21.00.
• Insider trading revealed major shareholder Advent sold 4.5 million shares, leading to a 23.45% decrease in their ownership stake in First Watch Restaurant Group.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by investment analysts at TD Cowen from $19.00 to $21.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. TD Cowen's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 25.15% from the company's current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on FWRG. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Benchmark dropped their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $26.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $17.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Watch Restaurant Group has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $20.82.

First Watch Restaurant Group Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of FWRG traded down $0.51 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $16.78. The company had a trading volume of 1,157,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 628,627. The stock has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 98.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 1-year low of $12.90 and a 1-year high of $22.71. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.78.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. 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 1.84% and a net margin of 1.03%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.12 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder International L.P. Advent sold 4,500,000 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.70, for a total value of $66,150,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 14,689,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $215,939,824.80. This trade represents a 23.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 8,815.8% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,694 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,675 shares during the period. State of Wyoming boosted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 212.6% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 3,214 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 2,186 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $86,000. Comerica Bank lifted its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 316.2% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 5,157 shares of the company's stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 3,918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 1,617.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,445 shares of the company's stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 5,128 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.11% of the company's stock.

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.