First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) Short Interest Update

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,780,000 shares, a drop of 21.7% from the October 31st total of 4,830,000 shares. Currently, 9.4% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 707,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.3 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on FWRG shares. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.30.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of FWRG traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $19.09. The company had a trading volume of 296,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 620,105. The company's 50 day moving average price is $16.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.93. The stock has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.85, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.85. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 52 week low of $12.90 and a 52 week high of $25.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $251.61 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $256.17 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 3.61% and a net margin of 2.09%. First Watch Restaurant Group's revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.09 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Watch Restaurant Group

In other First Watch Restaurant Group news, major shareholder Advent Partners Gpe Viii Limit sold 8,000,000 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group 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 transaction, the insider now owns 19,189,784 shares in the company, valued at $379,190,131.84. This trade represents a 29.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 5.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 18.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,611,452 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,674,000 after buying an additional 255,307 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,533,290 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,919,000 after buying an additional 192,471 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 15.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,385,972 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,338,000 after buying an additional 189,740 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 26.5% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,340,819 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,545,000 after buying an additional 281,056 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,114,974 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,022,000 after buying an additional 136,871 shares during the period. 96.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.