First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Trading 4.7% Higher – Still a Buy?

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG)’s stock price traded up 4.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $15.70 and last traded at $15.68. 206,010 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 573,906 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.97.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stephens initiated coverage on First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Thursday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.33.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Up 2.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 44.47, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $15.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.57.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $258.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $257.65 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 4.24% and a net margin of 2.51%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.13 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 285,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,446,000 after acquiring an additional 58,994 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 68,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,072,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 15,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 177.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 25,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 16,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $119,000. Institutional investors own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

About First Watch Restaurant Group

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates and franchises restaurants under the First Watch trade name in the United States. The company was formerly known as AI Fresh Super Holdco, Inc and changed its name to First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc in December 2019. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc was founded in 1983 and is based in Bradenton, Florida.