First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on FWRG. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays lowered their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded First Watch Restaurant Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.91.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FWRG opened at $16.26 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $16.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $992.35 million, a PE ratio of 203.28, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.21. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 12 month low of $12.90 and a 12 month high of $22.71.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $316.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.31 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 0.83% and a net margin of 0.42%. As a group, research analysts forecast that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FWRG. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 8,815.8% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,675 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 61.9% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 435.5% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 5,918 shares in the last quarter. 96.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.