Contrasting First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) & Mitchells & Butlers (OTCMKTS:MBPFF)

Mitchells & Butlers (OTCMKTS:MBPFF) and First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FWRG) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, dividends, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Mitchells & Butlers and First Watch Restaurant Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mitchells & Butlers	N/A	N/A	N/A
First Watch Restaurant Group	2.52%	4.15%	1.89%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

96.1% of First Watch Restaurant Group shares are held by institutional investors. 5.0% of First Watch Restaurant Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Mitchells & Butlers has a beta of 1.14, indicating that its stock price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Watch Restaurant Group has a beta of 0.88, indicating that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Mitchells & Butlers and First Watch Restaurant Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mitchells & Butlers	0	0	0	0	N/A
First Watch Restaurant Group	0	2	3	1	2.83

First Watch Restaurant Group has a consensus target price of $24.17, indicating a potential upside of 48.90%. Given First Watch Restaurant Group’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe First Watch Restaurant Group is more favorable than Mitchells & Butlers.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Mitchells & Butlers and First Watch Restaurant Group’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mitchells & Butlers	$3.07 billion	0.75	-$4.91 million	N/A	N/A
First Watch Restaurant Group	$891.55 million	1.10	$25.39 million	$0.38	42.71

First Watch Restaurant Group has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Mitchells & Butlers.

Summary

First Watch Restaurant Group beats Mitchells & Butlers on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mitchells & Butlers

Mitchells & Butlers plc engages in the management of pubs, bars, and restaurants in the United Kingdom and Germany. The company operates its pubs and restaurants under the Alex, All Bar One, Browns, Castle, EGO, Ember Inns, Harvester, High Street, Innkeeper's Lodge, Miller & Carter, Nicholson's, O'Neill's, Premium Country Pubs, Sizzling Pubs, Suburban, Stonehouse Pizza & Carvery, Toby Carvery, and Vintage Inns brands and formats. It also engages in the leisure retailing; property leasing, property management, and development; and financing activities, as well as operates as a healthcare trustee. In addition, the company owns various trademarks. The company was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Birmingham, the United Kingdom.

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.