First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Rating Increased to Buy at TD Cowen

TD Cowen upgraded shares of First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $22.00 target price on the stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on FWRG. Bank of America lifted their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. TD Securities raised First Watch Restaurant Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Tuesday. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $21.00 price target (down from $24.00) on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.45.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Up 7.6 %

FWRG opened at $17.91 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.27, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.54. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.23. First Watch Restaurant Group has a twelve month low of $12.90 and a twelve month high of $25.98.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.01). First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 3.61% and a net margin of 2.09%. The firm had revenue of $263.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $262.82 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.04 earnings per share. First Watch Restaurant Group’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Watch Restaurant Group

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FWRG. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 49,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $770,000 after buying an additional 551 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its position 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 worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 21,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 78,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 2,033 shares during the period. 96.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.