First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Trading Up 5% – Still a Buy?

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG)’s share price rose 5% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $18.77 and last traded at $18.67. Approximately 23,903 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 95% from the average daily volume of 442,936 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.78.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.30.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The business has a fifty day moving average of $18.84 and a 200 day moving average of $17.07. The stock has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 58.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.89.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.02). First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 3.61% and a net margin of 2.09%. The company had revenue of $251.61 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $256.17 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.09 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at First Watch Restaurant Group

In related news, major shareholder Advent Partners Gpe Viii Limit sold 8,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.76, for a total transaction of $158,080,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,189,784 shares in the company, valued at $379,190,131.84. This trade represents a 29.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 22.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,986,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,988,000 after acquiring an additional 366,227 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 14.4% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,533,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,919,000 after purchasing an additional 192,471 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 15.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,385,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,338,000 after purchasing an additional 189,740 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,114,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,022,000 after purchasing an additional 136,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 813,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,693,000 after purchasing an additional 59,508 shares during the period. 96.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.