Raymond James Reaffirms “Strong-Buy” Rating for First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG)

Raymond James reiterated their strong-buy rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. Raymond James currently has a $21.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $25.00.

FWRG has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Benchmark lowered their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $26.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $21.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, TD Securities dropped their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Watch Restaurant Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $21.18.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Performance

Shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock opened at $15.99 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.74. First Watch Restaurant Group has a fifty-two week low of $12.90 and a fifty-two week high of $22.71. The firm has a market cap of $974.96 million, a P/E ratio of 48.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.01.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($0.05). First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 2.09% and a return on equity of 3.61%. The firm had revenue of $282.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $282.98 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at First Watch Restaurant Group

In related news, insider Jay Anthony Wolszczak sold 5,743 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total value of $96,539.83. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $634,880.08. The trade was a 13.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Anthony Tomasso sold 42,039 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total value of $706,675.59. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 389,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,553,075.92. This trade represents a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Watch Restaurant Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FWRG. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 505.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 172,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,690,000 after purchasing an additional 144,014 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,114,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,022,000 after acquiring an additional 136,871 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 84.5% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 29,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $541,000 after acquiring an additional 13,301 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 98.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 7,547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 44.2% in the fourth quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 947,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,552,000 after purchasing an additional 290,173 shares during the last quarter. 96.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.