First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $11.93 and last traded at $12.46, with a volume of 2504173 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $12.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FWRG. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised First Watch Restaurant Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Stephens reduced their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.08.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock 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 50 day simple moving average of $15.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $731.23 million, a P/E ratio of 38.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.92.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.16. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 3.20% and a net margin of 1.59%.The company had revenue of $316.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.49 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William A. Kussell sold 6,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.00, for a total value of $104,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 26,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $448,834. This trade represents a 18.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the third quarter valued at $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 207.6% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,316 shares during the period. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $64,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $66,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 61.9% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 1,673 shares in the last quarter. 96.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.