Stephens Reaffirms Overweight Rating for First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG)

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating restated by research analysts at Stephens in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $18.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 32.06% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on FWRG. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded First Watch Restaurant Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $17.90.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Up 5.3%

Shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock opened at $13.63 on Wednesday. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 1 year low of $9.88 and a 1 year high of $18.77. The company has a market cap of $841.11 million, a P/E ratio of 47.00, a P/E/G ratio of 58.49 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $11.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.44.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $349.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $348.99 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 2.85% and a net margin of 1.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.05 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $58,445,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the 2nd quarter worth $49,291,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the 2nd quarter worth $47,938,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the 2nd quarter worth $13,783,000. Finally, Paralel Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $11,601,000. Institutional investors own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about First Watch Restaurant Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 adjusted earnings were $0.08 per share, ahead of analysts’ $0.03 estimate and up from $0.05 a year earlier. Revenue rose 10.7% year over year to $349.9 million, slightly above expectations. Zacks earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its long-term adjusted EBITDA growth target to more than 15% through 2028, strengthening the outlook for profit growth. Adjusted EBITDA outlook
• Positive Sentiment: The company plans 60 net-new system-wide restaurants in 2026 and is targeting about 55 openings in 2027, supporting continued expansion and revenue growth. Growth and expansion plans
• Neutral Sentiment: Same-restaurant sales grew 1.0%, a modest increase compared with total revenue growth; much of the overall sales expansion reflects the restaurant base growing. First Watch reported $4.8 million in net income and $39.7 million in adjusted EBITDA. Q3 financial results

First Watch Restaurant Group Company Profile

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc operates a daytime-focused restaurant concept serving breakfast, brunch and lunch. Its restaurants offer made-to-order meals such as omelets, pancakes, French toast, sandwiches, salads and bowls, along with fresh juices, coffee and other beverages. The company generally does not serve dinner, positioning its restaurants around the daytime dining occasion.

First Watch restaurants emphasize fresh preparation and seasonal menu offerings, including items made with eggs, fruits, vegetables and other ingredients prepared in the restaurant.