First Watch Restaurant Group (FWRG) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

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. The company relocated its headquarters to Bradenton, Florida, where it maintains its corporate campus. In November 2021, First Watch completed its initial public offering on the NASDAQ exchange, providing capital to support continued unit growth and operational enhancements.

As of the most recent filings, First Watch operates more than 400 restaurants across roughly 29 states, including markets in the Southeast, Midwest and select West Coast regions. Each café features an open-kitchen design and a modern interior that reinforces the brand’s commitment to transparency, quality and a friendly guest experience. The menu’s focus on fresh-pressed juices, artisanal coffee and crafted cocktails further differentiates First Watch in the daytime casual dining segment.

Under the leadership of President and Chief Executive Officer Chris Tomasso, First Watch continues to pursue a hybrid growth strategy of corporate development and franchise partnerships. Management emphasizes operational excellence, workforce training and real-estate discipline to drive unit profitability. Looking ahead, the company aims to deepen its footprint in existing markets while evaluating new territories for strategic expansion.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $11.19 to $11.61
• 50-Day Range: $10.11 to $13.53
• 52-Week Range: $10.09 to $19.53
• Volume: 1.08 million shs
• Average Volume: 1.38 million shs
• Market Capitalization: $708.36 million
• P/E Ratio: 41.04
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Price Target: $19.25
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

First Watch Restaurant Group scored higher than 88% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 35th out of 200 stocks in the retail/wholesale sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 4.4 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

First Watch Restaurant Group has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.85, and is based on 1 strong buy rating, 10 buy ratings, 1 hold rating, and 1 sell rating.

Upside Potential

First Watch Restaurant Group has a consensus price target of $19.25, representing about 67.5% upside from its current price of $11.49.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

First Watch Restaurant Group has been the subject of 9 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.9 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 35.00%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for First Watch Restaurant Group are expected to grow by 35.00% in the coming year, from $0.20 to $0.27 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of First Watch Restaurant Group is 41.04, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 39.03.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of First Watch Restaurant Group is 41.04, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the Retail/Wholesale sector average P/E ratio of about 19.81.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

First Watch Restaurant Group has a PEG Ratio of 5.99. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

First Watch Restaurant Group has a P/B Ratio of 1.13. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 3.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

9.06% of the float of First Watch Restaurant Group has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

First Watch Restaurant Group has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 4.33.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in First Watch Restaurant Group has recently decreased by 9.56%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 0.0 / 5
• Dividend Strength: N/A

Dividend Yield

First Watch Restaurant Group does not currently pay a dividend.

Dividend Growth

First Watch Restaurant Group does not have a long track record of dividend growth.

News and Social Media

• Score: 3.0 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.85

News Sentiment

First Watch Restaurant Group has a news sentiment score of 0.85. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.51 average news sentiment score of Retail/Wholesale companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 3 news articles for First Watch Restaurant Group this week, compared to 3 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

2 people have searched for FWRG on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 100% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 1.6 / 5
• Insider Trading: Selling Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, First Watch Restaurant Group insiders have sold more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $0.00 in company stock and sold $853,606.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

6.10% of the stock of First Watch Restaurant Group is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

96.11% of the stock of First Watch Restaurant Group is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 5/05/2026
• Today: 5/25/2026
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 8/04/2026
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2026

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
• Sector: Retail/Wholesale
• Industry: RETAIL - RESTRNTS
• Sub-Industry: Restaurants, Hotels, Motels
• Current Symbol: NASDAQ:FWRG
• CIK: 1789940
• Web: www.firstwatch.com
• Phone: 941-907-9800
• Fax: N/A
• Employees: 17,500
• Year Founded: 1983

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for First Watch Restaurant Group: $19.25
• High Price Target: $22.00
• Low Price Target: $14.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +67.5%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.85
• Research Coverage: 13 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $0.28
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 41.04
• Forward P/E Ratio: 57.45
• P/E Growth: 5.99
• Net Income: $19.43 million
• Net Margins: 1.38%
• Pretax Margin: 0.81%
• Return on Equity: 2.85%
• Return on Assets: 1.02%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.43
• Current Ratio: 0.29
• Quick Ratio: 0.25

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $1.27 billion
• Price / Sales: 0.56
• Cash Flow: $1.56 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 7.37
• Book Value: $10.18 per share
• Price / Book: 1.13

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 61,645,000
• Free Float: 57,885,000
• Market Cap: $708.30 million
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 1.11