Barclays Cuts First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) Price Target to $17.00

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) had its price target reduced by Barclays from $19.00 to $17.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

FWRG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Stephens dropped their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price objective 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 Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.08.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FWRG opened at $12.46 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $761.80 million, a PE ratio of 40.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.72. First Watch Restaurant Group has a one year low of $12.16 and a one year high of $21.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.29.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.16. First Watch Restaurant Group had a return on equity of 3.20% and a net margin of 1.59%.The firm had revenue of $316.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.01 earnings per share. First Watch Restaurant Group’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at First Watch Restaurant Group

In related news, Director William A. Kussell sold 6,165 shares of First Watch Restaurant Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.00, for a total value of $104,805.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,402 shares in the company, valued at $448,834. This trade represents a 18.93% 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 insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FWRG. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group during the third quarter worth $20,318,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group in the 2nd quarter worth $18,350,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in First Watch Restaurant Group by 51.7% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,335,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,468,000 after acquiring an additional 796,191 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in First Watch Restaurant Group by 2,796.3% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 813,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,716,000 after purchasing an additional 784,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 183.9% in the fourth quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 1,036,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,631,000 after purchasing an additional 671,455 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.11% of the company’s stock.

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.