Wall Street Zen Downgrades First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) to Sell

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on FWRG. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Bank of America cut their price target 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 Friday, July 18th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Watch Restaurant Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.09.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ FWRG opened at $18.59 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 309.88, a P/E/G ratio of 6.64 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $17.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.27. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 52-week low of $12.90 and a 52-week high of $22.71.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $307.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $304.94 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 0.37% and a return on equity of 0.69%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.14 EPS. First Watch Restaurant Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts expect that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Watch Restaurant Group

In other news, major shareholder International L.P. Advent sold 5,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.70, for a total transaction of $88,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,689,784 shares in the company, valued at $171,509,176.80. The trade was a 34.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 6.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FWRG. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD acquired a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the 4th quarter worth about $225,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 303,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,654,000 after acquiring an additional 42,444 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 316.2% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 5,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 3,918 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 249,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,648,000 after acquiring an additional 39,539 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $86,000. 96.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Watch Restaurant Group Company Profile

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.