First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $11.44 and last traded at $11.46, with a volume of 1710887 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $12.35.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on FWRG shares. Citigroup reduced their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Zacks Research raised First Watch Restaurant Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Friday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $17.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.75.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $700.66 million, a PE ratio of 36.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $14.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $316.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $317.49 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 3.20% and a net margin of 1.59%.First Watch Restaurant Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.01 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Matthew Eisenacher sold 6,070 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.59, for a total value of $76,421.30. Following the transaction, the insider owned 69,983 shares in the company, valued at $881,085.97. This represents a 7.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director William A. Kussell sold 6,165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.00, for a total transaction of $104,805.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $448,834. This trade represents a 18.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 74,178 shares of company stock worth $958,411 over the last ninety days. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 932,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,577,000 after acquiring an additional 163,102 shares in the last quarter. Deepwater Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Deepwater Asset Management LLC now owns 724,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,335,000 after acquiring an additional 93,662 shares in the last quarter. Ghisallo Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,516,000. Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,614,000. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group during the second quarter worth approximately $18,350,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

About First Watch Restaurant Group

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc (NASDAQ: FWRG) operates a specialty daytime dining concept focused on breakfast, brunch and lunch. The company’s casual, full-service cafés emphasize fresh ingredients, made-to-order entrées and a seasonally driven menu that ranges from omelets and Benedicts to salads, skillets and afternoon sandwiches. First Watch positions itself as a daytime-only destination, with most locations opening early morning and closing by mid-afternoon.

Founded in 1983 by Ken Pendery and John Sullivan in Pacific Grove, California, First Watch began as a single café and gradually expanded through company-owned and select franchised locations.