Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $43.56 According to Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Chipotle, with 27 buy ratings and nine hold ratings among 36 firms. The average 12-month price target is $43.56.
• Recent analyst actions were mixed: TD Cowen downgraded the stock to hold and cut its target to $32, while Argus raised its target to $45 and maintained a buy rating.
• Chipotle reported quarterly EPS of $0.33 versus the $0.32 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $3.35 billion, up 9.3% year over year. Institutional investors own 91.30% of the company.

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirty-six research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.56.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen downgraded Chipotle Mexican Grill from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $32.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $36.00 target price (up from $35.00) on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th.

Insider Activity

In other Chipotle Mexican Grill news, insider Matthew R. Bush sold 2,675 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total transaction of $95,631.25. Following the transaction, the insider owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at $765,586.25. This represents a 11.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chipotle Mexican Grill

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CMG. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,417,475,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 19.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,727,762 shares during the period. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 23.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill during the 2nd quarter worth $383,483,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 30.6% during the 2nd 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 worth $368,751,000 after purchasing an additional 2,541,795 shares in the last quarter. 91.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Price Performance

Shares of CMG opened at $28.37 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.90 billion, a PE ratio of 26.03, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.96. The company's 50-day moving average is $33.51 and its 200-day moving average is $34.37. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a fifty-two week low of $27.31 and a fifty-two week high of $41.52.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.01. The company 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%. Chipotle Mexican Grill's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.33 EPS. Analysts predict that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Chipotle Mexican Grill

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.

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