First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Given New $17.00 Price Target at Barclays

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) had its price objective trimmed by Barclays from $19.00 to $17.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Tuesday. Zacks Research raised shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.08.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FWRG opened at $12.52 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.79. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 1-year low of $12.16 and a 1-year high of $21.99. The firm has a market cap of $764.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.88.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $316.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.49 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 3.23% and a net margin of 1.59%.The business’s revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.01 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William A. Kussell sold 6,165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.00, for a total transaction of $104,805.00. Following the sale, the director owned 26,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $448,834. This represents a 18.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the third quarter worth $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 207.6% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,316 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the 4th quarter worth about $64,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the 4th quarter worth about $66,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 61.9% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,673 shares in the last quarter. 96.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting First Watch Restaurant Group

Here are the key news stories impacting First Watch Restaurant Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat on the bottom line and solid top‑line growth — FWRG reported $0.24 EPS vs. a $0.08 consensus and revenue up ~20% year‑over‑year, signalling underlying demand resilience. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Company reiterated a growth plan for 2026, targeting ~12%–14% revenue growth and highlighting investments in digital marketing and menu innovation that could support traffic and unit-level sales over time. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts cut price targets across the board (Citigroup, Barclays, Guggenheim, Stephens, TD Cowen) but largely maintained buy/overweight ratings — reflecting reduced upside expectations rather than a wholesale loss of confidence. Benzinga TickerReport (Guggenheim)
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO Mel Hope announced a planned retirement later this year with a transition process underway; management frames this as orderly but investors will watch succession and ongoing financial execution. Press Release
• Negative Sentiment: FY2026 guidance disappointed some investors — same‑store sales growth guided to a slower 1%–3% and adjusted EBITDA margin guidance implies little operational leverage, removing a near‑term catalyst for margin expansion. Seeking Alpha highlights this as a material risk and flags valuation concerns (fair value estimated in the low teens). Seeking Alpha
• Negative Sentiment: Investor reaction included an intraday selloff after the outlook release; coupled with trimmed analyst targets, this increases short‑term downside risk given stretched prior valuation metrics cited by some analysts. Earnings Coverage

First Watch Restaurant Group Company Profile

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.