Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) Shares Up 4.4% – Still a Buy?

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) rose 4.4% during trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $32.43 and last traded at $32.71. 7,091,482 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 17,291,025 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.33.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on CMG. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $42.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 target price (up from $50.00) on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.84.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Up 4.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $41.31 billion, a PE ratio of 29.99, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $34.83 and a 200 day moving average of $33.66.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a return on equity of 54.65% and a net margin of 11.43%.The firm’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 1.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Matthew R. Bush sold 2,675 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total value of $95,631.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at $765,586.25. This represents a 11.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chipotle Mexican Grill

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CMG. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,417,475,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 4th quarter worth approximately $711,837,000. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 13,843,222 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $383,483,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 206.4% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 14,062,158 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $520,300,000 after purchasing an additional 9,473,120 shares in the last quarter. 91.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Company Profile

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc is a fast-casual restaurant company that operates restaurants under the Chipotle Mexican Grill brand. Its menu centers on customizable Mexican-inspired food, including burritos, bowls, tacos and salads, along with sides, beverages and children’s meals.

The company emphasizes cooking with responsibly sourced ingredients and preparing food in its restaurants. Customers can order meals in person, through digital ordering channels, for pickup or delivery. Chipotle serves customers primarily in the United States, with additional restaurants in Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Germany.

Chipotle was founded in 1993 by Steve Ells in Denver, Colorado.