First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.02 EPS

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.02), Briefing.com reports. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 2.87% and a net margin of 1.38%.The company had revenue of $330.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $329.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.01) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from First Watch Restaurant Group’s conference call:

• First Watch reported solid Q1 results — $331M revenue (+17.3%), same-restaurant sales +2.8%, restaurant-level operating margin 18.5% (↑200 bps) and adjusted EBITDA +22.2% to $27.8M — and reiterated FY26 same-store (1–3%) and revenue (12–14%) guidance while raising the low end of adjusted EBITDA to $133–140M; system count is 648 restaurants after 16 openings.
• Management expanded digital marketing to ~75% of the base, says early analytics show a positive ROI (driving new and lapsed customers, higher engagement and brand awareness), and pulled several million of marketing spend into Q2 to accelerate read‑throughs.
• The system-wide rollout of the new core menu (late February) plus an extended 20-week seasonal menu is improving mix toward higher‑margin items, raising attachment rates and driving per‑person check growth incremental to carried pricing.
• Same-restaurant traffic declined 2% (weather accounted for ~100 bps) and the company reported a net loss of $2.7M; management still expects full‑year commodity inflation of 1–3% and labor inflation of 3–5%, and pulling marketing forward may raise near‑term G&A volatility.

First Watch Restaurant Group Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock traded down $0.22 during trading on Thursday, reaching $11.95. 1,617,666 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,681,066. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $12.05 and its 200 day moving average is $15.04. The firm has a market cap of $736.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.11. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 1 year low of $10.09 and a 1 year high of $19.53.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FWRG. Stifel Nicolaus set a $14.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Tuesday. 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. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Benchmark cut their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.25.

Insider Activity at First Watch Restaurant Group

In other news, insider Laura Anne Sorensen sold 4,732 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.59, for a total transaction of $59,575.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 239,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,009,639.50. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jay Anthony Wolszczak sold 3,161 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total transaction of $39,575.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 228,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,866,203.60. The trade was a 1.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 68,013 shares of company stock valued at $853,606 in the last quarter. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FWRG. State of Wyoming bought a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the fourth quarter worth about $64,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the fourth quarter worth about $66,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in 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. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 17,042.4% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 5,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $111,000. 96.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About First Watch Restaurant Group

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.