Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) Stock

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $65.00 to $68.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Citigroup's price objective suggests a potential upside of 21.43% from the stock's current price.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on CMG. Guggenheim set a $47.00 target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Argus downgraded Chipotle Mexican Grill from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $64.00 to $57.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Nine research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.25.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Performance

NYSE:CMG traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $56.00. 8,282,822 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,680,253. The firm has a market cap of $75.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.08. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a twelve month low of $44.46 and a twelve month high of $66.74. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $52.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.18.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The restaurant operator reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a return on equity of 43.29% and a net margin of 13.59%. The firm had revenue of $2.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $13.37 earnings per share. Chipotle Mexican Grill's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Roger E. Theodoredis sold 113,875 shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 109,815 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,457,805.50. The trade was a 50.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Chipotle Mexican Grill

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,804 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $290,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,518,593 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $91,571,000 after buying an additional 279,267 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 100.5% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,998 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 3,507 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 54.3% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 7,668 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $462,000 after buying an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 63.8% during the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 6,382 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 2,486 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.31% of the company's stock.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Company Profile

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.