First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Downgraded to “Strong Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) from a sell rating to a strong sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on FWRG. Freedom Capital raised shares of First Watch Restaurant Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $14.00 target price on First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered First Watch Restaurant Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.78.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

First Watch Restaurant Group stock opened at $12.45 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $767.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.47, a PEG ratio of 6.44 and a beta of 1.03. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 52-week low of $9.97 and a 52-week high of $19.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $11.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.10.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.02). First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 2.85% and a net margin of 1.38%.The company had revenue of $330.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $329.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.01) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royce & Associates LP purchased a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group in the fourth quarter worth $2,006,000. Riverbridge Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 90.8% during the first quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC now owns 2,091,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,921,000 after purchasing an additional 995,671 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,367,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,615,000 after purchasing an additional 434,987 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,320,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,080,000 after buying an additional 432,634 shares during the period. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 2,032,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,653,000 after buying an additional 311,938 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.