First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) CFO H Melville Hope III Sells 7,358 Shares

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) CFO H Melville Hope III sold 7,358 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.59, for a total value of $92,637.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 115,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,456,222.35. This trade represents a 5.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

First Watch Restaurant Group Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ FWRG traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $11.51. The stock had a trading volume of 451,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,785,806. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.50 and a 1-year high of $20.55. The company has a market capitalization of $703.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.17, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $15.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.39.

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

More First Watch Restaurant Group News

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

• Negative Sentiment: CFO H. Melville Hope III sold 7,358 shares at an average price of $12.59 (≈$92,637), reducing his stake by ~5.98%. This trade from the company’s top finance officer tends to draw extra investor attention. CFO Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Jay Anthony Wolszczak sold 6,998 shares at $12.59 (≈$88,105), a ~2.93% reduction in his holding. Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Matthew Eisenacher sold 6,070 shares at $12.59 (≈$76,421), cutting his position by ~7.98%. Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Laura Anne Sorensen sold 4,732 shares at $12.59 (≈$59,576), a ~1.94% trim to her holding. Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: John Daniel Jones sold 4,600 shares at $12.59 (≈$57,914), reducing his stake by ~5.05%. Form 4

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Stephens dropped their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup decreased their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,320,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,080,000 after purchasing an additional 432,634 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,576,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,849,000 after buying an additional 133,402 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 51.7% during 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 last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 13.4% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,281,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,589,000 after buying an additional 269,726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 1.8% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,213,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,509,000 after buying an additional 39,648 shares in 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 (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.