First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $16.65, but opened at $17.50. First Watch Restaurant Group shares last traded at $17.62, with a volume of 112,081 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on FWRG shares. TD Cowen upgraded First Watch Restaurant Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. TD Securities raised shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Tuesday. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $21.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.45.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 55.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $19.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $263.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $262.82 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 3.61% and a net margin of 2.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.04 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at First Watch Restaurant Group

In related news, CEO Christopher Anthony Tomasso sold 42,039 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total transaction of $706,675.59. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 389,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,553,075.92. This represents a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jay Anthony Wolszczak sold 5,743 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total transaction of $96,539.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

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