First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Stock Price Up 12.3% – Still a Buy?

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG)’s stock price rose 12.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $20.60 and last traded at $20.50. Approximately 106,528 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 573,390 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.25.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Guggenheim cut their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens began coverage on First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Watch Restaurant Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.00.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Up 13.7 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of 53.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.85.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.02. First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 4.24%. The company had revenue of $258.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $257.65 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FWRG. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in First Watch Restaurant Group in the first quarter valued at $3,333,000. Nicholas Investment Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the second quarter worth $3,391,000. Deepwater Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 68.5% in the second quarter. Deepwater Asset Management LLC now owns 695,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,216,000 after purchasing an additional 282,765 shares during the period. Primoris Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the first quarter valued at $1,788,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 15.6% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 31,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 4,294 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

First Watch Restaurant Group Company Profile

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.