First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Shares Gap Up to $24.77

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $24.77, but opened at $25.50. First Watch Restaurant Group shares last traded at $25.10, with a volume of 152,909 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FWRG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup lifted their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Raymond James lifted their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Watch Restaurant Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.00.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a PE ratio of 62.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $23.90 and a 200 day moving average of $20.94.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 4.62% and a net margin of 2.85%. The company had revenue of $244.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $237.20 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.01) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. will post 0.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Watch Restaurant Group

In other First Watch Restaurant Group news, Director William A. Kussell sold 8,386 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.10, for a total value of $185,330.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,409 shares in the company, valued at $274,238.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director William A. Kussell sold 8,386 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.10, for a total value of $185,330.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $274,238.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Eric Richard Hartman sold 1,474 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.03, for a total value of $36,894.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 51,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,286,967.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,085,127 shares of company stock worth $170,038,222 over the last quarter. 5.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 6.1% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 10,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,000 after buying an additional 633 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 3,232.8% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 2,166 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the 1st quarter worth $65,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 78,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,577,000 after purchasing an additional 2,763 shares in the last quarter. 96.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.