First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Rating Increased to Buy at TD Securities

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at TD Securities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $22.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $21.00. TD Securities' target price suggests a potential upside of 28.06% from the company's previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $21.00 price objective (down from $24.00) on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $21.00 price target on First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $22.45.

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First Watch Restaurant Group Trading Down 6.7 %

First Watch Restaurant Group stock traded down $1.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $17.18. The stock had a trading volume of 618,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 655,475. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $19.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.51. First Watch Restaurant Group has a twelve month low of $12.90 and a twelve month high of $25.98. The firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.06, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.91.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $263.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $262.82 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 3.61% and a net margin of 2.09%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.04 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

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