Short Interest in First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) Drops By 7.2%

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,730,000 shares, a drop of 7.2% from the May 31st total of 4,020,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 622,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.0 days. Approximately 11.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Watch Restaurant Group

In other news, Director William A. Kussell sold 8,386 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.10, for a total value of $185,330.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,409 shares in the company, valued at $274,238.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Watch Restaurant Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the 1st quarter valued at $65,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the third quarter worth $95,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the first quarter valued at about $172,000. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $183,000. Finally, Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $211,000. 96.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lowered their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, First Watch Restaurant Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.17.

First Watch Restaurant Group Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ FWRG opened at $16.07 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $19.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.50. The stock has a market cap of $970.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.29, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.88. First Watch Restaurant Group has a twelve month low of $15.90 and a twelve month high of $25.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.60.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.02. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 4.15% and a net margin of 2.52%. The firm had revenue of $242.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $245.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.39 EPS for the current year.

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.