First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $16.65, but opened at $17.50. First Watch Restaurant Group shares last traded at $17.62, with a volume of 112,081 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on FWRG. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $21.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. TD Securities upgraded shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Tuesday. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded First Watch Restaurant Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.45.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Up 2.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.23. The firm has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 55.82, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.91.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $263.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $262.82 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 3.61% and a net margin of 2.09%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.04 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at First Watch Restaurant Group

In other news, insider Jay Anthony Wolszczak sold 5,743 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total transaction of $96,539.83. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $634,880.08. This trade represents a 13.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Christopher Anthony Tomasso sold 42,039 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total transaction of $706,675.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 389,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,553,075.92. This represents a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 49,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $770,000 after buying an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in First Watch Restaurant Group by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 613 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 68.7% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 21,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 78,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 2,033 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.