First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Trading Up 9.4% – Still a Buy?

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG)’s stock price traded up 9.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $12.20 and last traded at $12.20. 642,496 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 1,569,826 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.15.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $14.00 price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Benchmark dropped their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.27.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $744.61 million, a PE ratio of 43.10, a P/E/G ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $11.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.58.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $330.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $329.35 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 2.85% and a net margin of 1.38%.The business’s revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.01) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 96.7% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,957,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,477,000 after buying an additional 1,946,084 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 81.4% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,357,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,191,000 after acquiring an additional 1,507,074 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $20,318,000. Riverbridge Partners LLC grew its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 90.8% during the 1st quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC now owns 2,091,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,921,000 after acquiring an additional 995,671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 113.7% in the 1st quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,481,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,529,000 after purchasing an additional 788,436 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

About First Watch Restaurant Group

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.