First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) Short Interest Update

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,650,000 shares, a decline of 7.2% from the January 15th total of 5,010,000 shares. Approximately 11.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 715,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on FWRG shares. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Watch Restaurant Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.30.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 59.0% during the fourth 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. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,351,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,764,000 after buying an additional 479,741 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,141,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,848,000 after buying an additional 154,784 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the fourth quarter worth $39,095,000. Finally, 12 West Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. 12 West Capital Management LP now owns 2,013,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,469,000 after purchasing an additional 337,920 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FWRG traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $20.61. 390,968 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 462,630. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $19.61 and a 200 day moving average of $17.72. First Watch Restaurant Group has a twelve month low of $12.90 and a twelve month high of $25.98.

About First Watch Restaurant Group

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.