Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) Stock Gets Downgrade from TD Cowen

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) was downgraded by stock analysts at TD Cowen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, October 21st, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $32.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $44.00. TD Cowen‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 2.13% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on CMG. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $44.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 19th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Argus upped their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.47.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Price Performance

Shares of CMG traded up $2.60 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $31.33. The stock had a trading volume of 42,432,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,084,094. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.21. The firm has a market cap of $39.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.96. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a twelve month low of $27.31 and a twelve month high of $41.42.

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

Insider Transactions at Chipotle Mexican Grill

In related 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 value of $95,631.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $765,586.25. This trade represents a 11.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the second quarter worth approximately $4,417,475,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings 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 valued at $527,469,000 after purchasing an additional 2,727,762 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 23.3% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 11,980,192 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $383,486,000 after purchasing an additional 2,266,087 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 86.1% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,973,752 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $383,280,000 after purchasing an additional 5,541,385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 30.6% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,845,627 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $368,751,000 after purchasing an additional 2,541,795 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.30% of the company’s stock.

More Chipotle Mexican Grill News

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.