First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $15.85, but opened at $17.53. First Watch Restaurant Group shares last traded at $17.27, with a volume of 407,433 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FWRG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.09.

First Watch Restaurant Group Trading Up 12.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.27. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.05. The stock has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 298.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.87.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.03). First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 0.69% and a net margin of 0.37%.The firm had revenue of $316.02 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.31 million. First Watch Restaurant Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts expect that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at First Watch Restaurant Group

In other First Watch Restaurant Group news, major shareholder International L.P. Advent sold 5,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.70, for a total transaction of $88,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,689,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $171,509,176.80. This trade represents a 34.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Watch Restaurant Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FWRG. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 663,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,372,000 after purchasing an additional 50,873 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 997,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,598,000 after purchasing an additional 40,300 shares during the period. Avory & Company LLC grew its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Avory & Company LLC now owns 354,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,547,000 after purchasing an additional 2,348 shares during the period. Finally, Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust grew its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 92.7% in the 3rd quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 498,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,792,000 after purchasing an additional 239,688 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

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.