First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Stock Rating Upgraded by TD Cowen

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) was upgraded by investment analysts at TD Cowen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $22.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen’s price objective points to a potential upside of 32.13% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $24.00 price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. TD Securities raised shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America upped their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $21.00 price objective (down previously from $24.00) on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, First Watch Restaurant Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $22.45.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FWRG opened at $16.65 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.21. The stock has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.91. First Watch Restaurant Group has a twelve month low of $12.90 and a twelve month high of $25.98.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.01). First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 3.61% and a net margin of 2.09%. The company had revenue of $263.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $262.82 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.04 earnings per share. First Watch Restaurant Group’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at First Watch Restaurant Group

In other First Watch Restaurant Group news, insider Jay Anthony Wolszczak sold 5,743 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total transaction of $96,539.83. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $634,880.08. This represents a 13.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Anthony Tomasso sold 42,039 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total transaction of $706,675.59. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 389,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,553,075.92. The trade was a 9.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FWRG. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 59.0% in the fourth quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,582,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,057,000 after buying an additional 958,417 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,351,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,764,000 after acquiring an additional 479,741 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,141,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,848,000 after acquiring an additional 154,784 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,095,000. Finally, 12 West Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. 12 West Capital Management LP now owns 2,013,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,469,000 after purchasing an additional 337,920 shares during the period. 96.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Watch Restaurant Group Company Profile

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.