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 target price lifted by research analysts at TD Cowen from $19.00 to $21.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. TD Cowen's target price would indicate a potential upside of 20.55% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Benchmark lowered their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $26.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $17.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $20.82.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

FWRG stock traded up $0.54 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $17.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 829,357 shares, compared to its average volume of 601,402. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 1 year low of $12.90 and a 1 year high of $22.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 102.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.90. The company's fifty day moving average is $16.37 and its 200-day moving average is $17.81.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $282.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $282.98 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 1.03% and a return on equity of 1.84%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.12 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at First Watch Restaurant Group

In other news, major shareholder International L.P. Advent sold 4,500,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.70, for a total transaction of $66,150,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 14,689,784 shares in the company, valued at $215,939,824.80. The trade was a 23.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 6.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FWRG. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the fourth quarter worth about $39,095,000. Riverbridge Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the 2nd quarter worth $20,524,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 59.0% during 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 during the 4th quarter valued at $15,506,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 3,919.8% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 834,830 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,900,000 after acquiring an additional 814,062 shares in the last quarter. 96.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.