First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,310,000 shares, an increase of 19.7% from the November 30th total of 3,600,000 shares. Currently, 10.7% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 743,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on FWRG. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Stephens boosted their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays increased their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Raymond James raised their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $23.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Watch Restaurant Group

In other news, major shareholder Advent Partners Gpe Viii Limit sold 8,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.76, for a total value of $158,080,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,189,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $379,190,131.84. This represents a 29.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 5.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC raised its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 180.1% in the third quarter. Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC now owns 6,610 shares of the company's stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 4,250 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $119,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $157,000. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the 3rd quarter worth $201,000. Finally, Commerce Bank purchased a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the 3rd quarter worth $208,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.11% of the company's stock.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of FWRG stock traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $18.70. The stock had a trading volume of 364,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 623,152. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 12-month low of $12.90 and a 12-month high of $25.98. 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's 50-day moving average is $18.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.89.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.02). First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 2.09% and a return on equity of 3.61%. The firm had revenue of $251.61 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $256.17 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.09 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.