First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Given New $21.00 Price Target at Guggenheim

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) had its price objective decreased by Guggenheim from $23.00 to $21.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on FWRG. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Watch Restaurant Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.08.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

FWRG stock opened at $12.52 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $15.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.79. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 52-week low of $12.16 and a 52-week high of $21.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $764.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.39, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.88.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $316.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $317.49 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 3.23% and a net margin of 1.59%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.01 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Watch Restaurant Group news, Director William A. Kussell sold 6,165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.00, for a total transaction of $104,805.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 26,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $448,834. This represents a 18.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 21.2% during the third quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 932,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,577,000 after purchasing an additional 163,102 shares during the period. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $306,000. Armistice Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,614,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,022,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,407,000 after buying an additional 40,823 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the 2nd quarter worth $18,350,000. 96.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More First Watch Restaurant Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat on the bottom line and solid top‑line growth — FWRG reported $0.24 EPS vs. a $0.08 consensus and revenue up ~20% year‑over‑year, signalling underlying demand resilience. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Company reiterated a growth plan for 2026, targeting ~12%–14% revenue growth and highlighting investments in digital marketing and menu innovation that could support traffic and unit-level sales over time. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts cut price targets across the board (Citigroup, Barclays, Guggenheim, Stephens, TD Cowen) but largely maintained buy/overweight ratings — reflecting reduced upside expectations rather than a wholesale loss of confidence. Benzinga TickerReport (Guggenheim)
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO Mel Hope announced a planned retirement later this year with a transition process underway; management frames this as orderly but investors will watch succession and ongoing financial execution. Press Release
• Negative Sentiment: FY2026 guidance disappointed some investors — same‑store sales growth guided to a slower 1%–3% and adjusted EBITDA margin guidance implies little operational leverage, removing a near‑term catalyst for margin expansion. Seeking Alpha highlights this as a material risk and flags valuation concerns (fair value estimated in the low teens). Seeking Alpha
• Negative Sentiment: Investor reaction included an intraday selloff after the outlook release; coupled with trimmed analyst targets, this increases short‑term downside risk given stretched prior valuation metrics cited by some analysts. Earnings Coverage

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.