TD Cowen Cuts First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Price Target to $18.00

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) had its price objective reduced by TD Cowen from $21.00 to $18.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on FWRG. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Barclays decreased their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Watch Restaurant Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Watch Restaurant Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.08.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Up 5.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:FWRG opened at $13.15 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $803.99 million, a P/E ratio of 42.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.88. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 12 month low of $12.16 and a 12 month high of $21.99. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $15.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.76.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $316.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $317.49 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 3.20%. First Watch Restaurant Group’s revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.01 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William A. Kussell sold 6,165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.00, for a total transaction of $104,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 26,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $448,834. The trade was a 18.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $20,318,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the second quarter worth $18,350,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 51.7% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,335,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,468,000 after buying an additional 796,191 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 2,796.3% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 813,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,716,000 after buying an additional 784,979 shares during the period. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC increased its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 183.9% in the 4th quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 1,036,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,631,000 after buying an additional 671,455 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

First Watch Restaurant Group News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results showed an earnings beat and healthy top-line growth: management reported EPS above consensus and revenue roughly in line while revenue grew ~20% year-over-year, signaling underlying demand and improving profitability versus the prior-year quarter. Article Link
• Positive Sentiment: Corporate investor outreach: First Watch will participate in three investor conferences in March, increasing management access to investors and providing visible near-term catalysts (presentations/Q&A) that can help rejustify valuation if management delivers on guidance. Article Link
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts continue to rate the stock positively: several firms (Citigroup, Guggenheim, Stephens, Barclays) maintained Buy/Overweight stances even after updating models — this supports a constructive narrative but leaves upside tied to execution against guidance. Benzinga Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple price-target cuts: Citi cut its PT to $21, Barclays to $17, Guggenheim to $21 and Stephens to $21. Those reductions trim the implied upside and reflect more cautious near-term expectations. Price Target Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance and valuation concerns: a recent critique flagged that FY2026 guidance implies slower same-store sales (1–3%) and no margin leverage, while the stock still trades at a stretched P/E — raising the risk that upside is limited absent acceleration or margin improvement. Seeking Alpha Analysis

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.