Bank of America Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Stock

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) had its price objective lifted by Bank of America from $27.00 to $28.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Tuesday. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.36.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of FWRG opened at $16.49 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $19.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.12. The stock has a market cap of $998.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.90. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 12 month low of $12.90 and a 12 month high of $25.98.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.01). First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 2.09% and a return on equity of 3.61%. The company had revenue of $263.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $262.82 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.04 EPS. First Watch Restaurant Group’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at First Watch Restaurant Group

In related news, CEO Christopher Anthony Tomasso sold 42,039 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total value of $706,675.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 389,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,553,075.92. This trade represents a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jay Anthony Wolszczak sold 5,743 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total transaction of $96,539.83. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 37,768 shares in the company, valued at $634,880.08. This represents a 13.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 59.0% during the 4th quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,582,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,057,000 after acquiring an additional 958,417 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,351,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,764,000 after acquiring an additional 479,741 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,141,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,848,000 after acquiring an additional 154,784 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,095,000. Finally, 12 West Capital Management LP raised its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 20.2% during the 4th quarter. 12 West Capital Management LP now owns 2,013,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,469,000 after buying an additional 337,920 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

About First Watch Restaurant Group

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates and franchises restaurants under the First Watch trade name in the United States. The company was formerly known as AI Fresh Super Holdco, Inc and changed its name to First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc in December 2019. First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc was founded in 1983 and is based in Bradenton, Florida.