Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Brokerages

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twenty-seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $42.47.

CMG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Argus increased their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Telsey Advisory Group set a $40.00 price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Thursday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Chipotle Mexican Grill news, insider Matthew R. Bush sold 2,675 shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total transaction of $95,631.25. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 21,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $765,586.25. The trade was a 11.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Chipotle Mexican Grill

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,417,475,000. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 101,688,010 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,762,457,000 after purchasing an additional 13,843,222 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 45,294,212 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,675,895,000 after purchasing an additional 6,796,285 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 16,478,248 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $527,469,000 after acquiring an additional 2,727,762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 206.4% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 14,062,158 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $520,300,000 after buying an additional 9,473,120 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.30% of the company’s stock.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Price Performance

Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill stock traded up $2.60 on Friday, hitting $31.33. 42,432,740 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,084,094. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $33.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.21. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a one year low of $27.31 and a one year high of $41.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.65 billion, a PE ratio of 28.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.96.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.02). Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 11.43% and a return on equity of 54.65%. The firm had revenue of $3.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Headlines Impacting Chipotle Mexican Grill

Here are the key news stories impacting Chipotle Mexican Grill this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue rose 9.6% to $3.29 billion, in line with expectations, while comparable-restaurant sales increased 2.1% and transactions grew for the third consecutive quarter. Value offers and limited-time menu items helped attract diners. Chipotle beats quarterly sales expectations on resilient demand
• Positive Sentiment: Investors responded favorably to signs of a traffic recovery following earlier food-safety concerns. New menu launches, refreshed loyalty benefits and plans to accelerate technology and menu innovation are supporting the turnaround. Chipotle Sales Beat as New Chicken, Chips Bring Diners Back
• Positive Sentiment: Chipotle opened 84 company-owned restaurants during the quarter, and its loyalty program surpassed 24 million members, providing additional long-term growth and customer-engagement potential. Chipotle: 3 Key Takeaways for Long-Term Investors
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts maintained bullish ratings, including DA Davidson and BTIG Research at $45 targets and Oppenheimer at a $51 target, implying substantial upside based on the supplied reference price. Oppenheimer analyst rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinion remains mixed: Citigroup kept a Buy rating while cutting its target to $41, whereas BNP Paribas Exane retained Neutral and reduced its target to $36. Bernstein also lowered its target to $43 from $50. Citigroup price target
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted earnings were $0.27 per share, below the $0.29 consensus and last year’s $0.29, as higher operating costs, beef prices and increased protein usage pressured margins. Chipotle Q3 earnings miss estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Management’s outlook calls for only modestly higher sales, leaving investors dependent on the fourth-quarter brisket launch, continued traffic gains and successful cost management to sustain the recovery. The rest of Chipotle’s year hinges on brisket

Chipotle Mexican Grill Company Profile

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc (NYSE: CMG) operates a chain of fast-casual restaurants focused on Mexican-inspired food. Its menu includes burritos, burrito bowls, tacos, quesadillas and salads, with options such as chicken, steak, barbacoa, carnitas, sofritas and vegetables. The company emphasizes preparing food in its restaurants from ingredients it describes as responsibly sourced, including meats raised with attention to animal welfare and produce from selected suppliers.

Founded by Steve Ells in 1993, Chipotle opened its first restaurant in Denver, Colorado.