First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) Short Interest Update

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,650,000 shares, a decline of 7.2% from the January 15th total of 5,010,000 shares. Currently, 11.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 715,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.5 days.

First Watch Restaurant Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FWRG opened at $22.23 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.77. First Watch Restaurant Group has a fifty-two week low of $12.90 and a fifty-two week high of $25.98. The company has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of 67.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.91.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on FWRG. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Watch Restaurant Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.30.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Watch Restaurant Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FWRG. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,095,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 59.0% in the fourth quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,582,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,057,000 after buying an additional 958,417 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the fourth quarter valued at $15,506,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the fourth quarter valued at $12,732,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 25.6% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. 96.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.