First Watch Restaurant price target lowered to $22 from $26 at Benchmark

Benchmark lowered the firm’s price target on First Watch Restaurant (FWRG) to $22 from $26 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Q1 revenue performance nearly met consensus, but “a litany of margin pressures,” some strategic and some systemic, resulted in reported restaurant-level operating margin of 16.5%, which was 220 basis points below consensus expectations, the analyst tells investors. However, the firm sees the cost pressures as largely transitory and continues to view First Watch as “the winning concept in the Daytime Dining sector” and the analyst is retaining a “Top Pick” designation on the shares.