Stephens Lowers First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Price Target to $21.00

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) had its price objective lowered by stock analysts at Stephens from $24.00 to $21.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Stephens’ target price points to a potential upside of 70.45% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on FWRG. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Watch Restaurant Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Zacks Research raised First Watch Restaurant Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays cut their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.27.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

FWRG opened at $12.32 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $751.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 154.02, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $16.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.82. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 1 year low of $12.17 and a 1 year high of $21.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $316.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $317.49 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 0.42% and a return on equity of 0.83%. The company’s revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.01 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William A. Kussell sold 6,165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.00, for a total transaction of $104,805.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $448,834. The trade was a 18.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 207.6% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,316 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $64,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the fourth quarter worth about $66,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 61.9% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,673 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting First Watch Restaurant Group

Here are the key news stories impacting First Watch Restaurant Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat on the bottom line — First Watch reported $0.24 EPS vs. a $0.08 consensus and delivered 20.2% year‑over‑year revenue growth, showing solid operating leverage vs. last year. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Company set a growth roadmap for 2026 — First Watch provided an outlook targeting roughly $1.4B in revenue and a 12%–14% revenue growth target while emphasizing expanded digital marketing and menu innovation to drive comp and new unit performance. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst repositioning — TD Cowen trimmed its price target from $21 to $18 but maintained a Buy rating, reflecting moderated near‑term expectations while still signaling upside vs. current levels. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings materials available — Investors can review the earnings transcript, slide deck and call details for color on margins, unit growth cadence and marketing spend. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: shares falling — Despite the EPS beat, investors focused on the slight revenue miss versus consensus and the tone of guidance/forward commentary; that combination helped trigger a selloff. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: CFO transition introduces near‑term uncertainty — CFO Mel Hope announced retirement later this year and the company has started a successor search, which can create short‑term execution and disclosure risk until a replacement is named. Read More.

First Watch Restaurant Group Company Profile

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc (NASDAQ: FWRG) operates a specialty daytime dining concept focused on breakfast, brunch and lunch. The company’s casual, full-service cafés emphasize fresh ingredients, made-to-order entrées and a seasonally driven menu that ranges from omelets and Benedicts to salads, skillets and afternoon sandwiches. First Watch positions itself as a daytime-only destination, with most locations opening early morning and closing by mid-afternoon.

Founded in 1983 by Ken Pendery and John Sullivan in Pacific Grove, California, First Watch began as a single café and gradually expanded through company-owned and select franchised locations.