Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Chipotle Mexican Grill has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from 28 research firms, with one strong buy, 19 buys, and eight holds among the ratings.
• Insider selling occurred when Roger E. Theodoredis sold 113,875 shares at an average price of $49.70, reducing his ownership by over 50%.
• Institutional ownership is significant, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 91.30% of the stock, reflecting strong investor interest in Chipotle.

Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-eight research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $60.2222.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler upgraded Chipotle Mexican Grill from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $47.00 to $46.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $62.00 to $59.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chipotle Mexican Grill

In other Chipotle Mexican Grill news, insider Roger E. Theodoredis sold 113,875 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total value of $5,659,587.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 109,815 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,457,805.50. This represents a 50.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chipotle Mexican Grill

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CMG. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 2nd quarter worth $1,001,668,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 1st quarter valued at $535,023,000. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 2nd quarter valued at $597,031,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4,138,574.1% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 8,318,735 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $501,620,000 after acquiring an additional 8,318,534 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 98.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,900,521 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $497,105,000 after acquiring an additional 4,903,969 shares during the period. 91.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE CMG opened at $42.66 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $49.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.09, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.05. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a 52 week low of $41.18 and a 52 week high of $66.74.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The restaurant operator reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.01. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 13.32% and a return on equity of 43.50%. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.34 earnings per share. Chipotle Mexican Grill's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

About Chipotle Mexican Grill

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants. It sells food and beverages through offering burritos, burrito bowls, quesadillas, tacos, and salads. The company also provides delivery and related services its app and website. It has operations in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

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