First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Insider Matthew Eisenacher Sells 2,760 Shares of Stock

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) insider Matthew Eisenacher sold 2,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total value of $34,555.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 67,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $841,631.96. This represents a 3.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Matthew Eisenacher also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, March 10th, Matthew Eisenacher sold 6,070 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.59, for a total value of $76,421.30.

First Watch Restaurant Group Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock opened at $12.24 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $14.93 and a 200-day moving average of $16.16. The stock has a market cap of $748.35 million, a PE ratio of 39.51, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.92. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.44 and a 52-week high of $20.55. 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, February 24th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.16. First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 3.20%. The business had revenue of $316.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.49 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.01 earnings per share. First Watch Restaurant Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting First Watch Restaurant Group

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

• Negative Sentiment: CEO Christopher Tomasso sold 25,062 shares for ≈$313,776, reducing his stake by ~2.55% while still retaining ~957,315 shares. SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: CFO H. Melville Hope III sold 3,878 shares for ≈$48,553 (≈3.35% reduction). SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Director/insider Jay Anthony Wolszczak sold 3,161 shares for ≈$39,576 (≈1.36% reduction). SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Insider Matthew Eisenacher sold 2,760 shares for ≈$34,555 (≈3.94% reduction). SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Laura Anne Sorensen sold 1,697 shares for ≈$21,246 (≈0.71% reduction). SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: John Daniel Jones sold 1,697 shares for ≈$21,246 (≈1.96% reduction). SEC Filing

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on FWRG shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Barclays cut their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 67.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 54,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $903,000 after purchasing an additional 21,830 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 31.8% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 22,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 5,497 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 30.3% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,000 after buying an additional 5,139 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 4.2% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,022,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,407,000 after acquiring an additional 40,823 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey grew its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 17.3% in the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 9,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

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.