First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) Short Interest Down 7.2% in June

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWRG) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,730,000 shares, a drop of 7.2% from the May 31st total of 4,020,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 622,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.0 days. Currently, 11.6% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FWRG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on First Watch Restaurant Group from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup upped their price target on First Watch Restaurant Group from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of First Watch Restaurant Group from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.17.

First Watch Restaurant Group Stock Performance

Shares of FWRG traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $16.07. 489,535 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 572,752. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $19.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $970.19 million, a PE ratio of 42.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.60. First Watch Restaurant Group has a 1-year low of $15.90 and a 1-year high of $25.98.

First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $242.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.03 million. First Watch Restaurant Group had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 4.15%. First Watch Restaurant Group’s revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.15 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that First Watch Restaurant Group will post 0.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Watch Restaurant Group

In other news, Director William A. Kussell sold 8,386 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.10, for a total transaction of $185,330.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $274,238.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 5.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Watch Restaurant Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Invesco Ltd. bought a new position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the third quarter worth $8,940,000. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in First Watch Restaurant Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $764,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 452.8% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 116,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,018,000 after buying an additional 95,581 shares in the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $183,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of First Watch Restaurant Group by 0.5% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,233,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,325,000 after acquiring an additional 5,889 shares in the last quarter. 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.