First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Upgraded at TD Securities

TD Securities upgraded shares of First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has $22.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $21.00.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $21.00 price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $21.00 target price (down from $24.00) on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $22.45.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Down 6.7 %

First Watch Restaurant Group stock opened at $17.18 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.06, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.51. First Watch Restaurant Group has a fifty-two week low of $12.90 and a fifty-two week high of $25.98.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $263.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $262.82 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 2.09% and a return on equity of 3.61%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.04 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at First Watch Restaurant Group

In other news, CEO Christopher Anthony Tomasso sold 42,039 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total value of $706,675.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 389,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,553,075.92. This represents a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jay Anthony Wolszczak sold 5,743 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total transaction of $96,539.83. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $634,880.08. The trade was a 13.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 68.7% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. State of Wyoming boosted its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 212.6% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 3,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 2,186 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $81,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $86,000. 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.