Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-three research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twenty-three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $43.91.

CMG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $42.50 target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Thursday, July 30th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $42.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Friday, July 31st.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Matthew R. Bush sold 2,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total value of $95,631.25. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at $765,586.25. This trade represents a 11.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chipotle Mexican Grill

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in the second quarter worth approximately $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 worth $3,762,457,000 after acquiring an additional 13,843,222 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 45,294,212 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,675,895,000 after acquiring an additional 6,796,285 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,727,762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 206.4% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 14,062,158 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $520,300,000 after purchasing an additional 9,473,120 shares during the period. 91.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE CMG opened at $30.89 on Friday. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a 12 month low of $28.03 and a 12 month high of $42.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $34.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.57. The stock has a market cap of $39.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.96.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.33 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 11.43% and a return on equity of 54.65%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Chipotle Mexican Grill

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc is a fast-casual restaurant company that specializes in Mexican-inspired food made with a limited number of core ingredients. Its menu includes burritos, burrito bowls, tacos, quesadillas, salads and sides, with options such as chicken, steak, barbacoa, carnitas, sofritas and vegetables. The company also offers beverages, including soft drinks and other drinks, and allows customers to customize meals.

Founded by Steve Ells in 1993, Chipotle operates company-owned restaurants under the Chipotle Mexican Grill brand.