First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Trading 9.4% Higher – Should You Buy?

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) traded up 9.4% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $12.20 and last traded at $12.20. 642,496 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 1,569,826 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.15.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on FWRG shares. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised First Watch Restaurant Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 21st. Benchmark lowered their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings downgraded First Watch Restaurant Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $14.00 price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.27.

First Watch Restaurant Group Trading Up 4.6%

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.50. The stock has a market cap of $786.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.61, a PEG ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.29.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $330.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $329.35 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 2.85% and a net margin of 1.38%.The business’s revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.01) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.2 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the fourth quarter valued at $64,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the fourth quarter valued at $66,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 61.9% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 1,673 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 17,042.4% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 5,624 shares during the last quarter. 96.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.