StockNews.com Upgrades Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) to Buy

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

CMG has been the topic of several other research reports. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $64.00 target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Monday, June 17th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $66.80 price target (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $48.84 to $61.40 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $66.00 to $69.70 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Chipotle Mexican Grill has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.17.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Performance

Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill stock opened at $62.38 on Wednesday. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a 52-week low of $35.37 and a 52-week high of $69.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $127.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.98.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.04. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 43.74%. The firm had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.67 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 55.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 320,300 shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.72, for a total value of $20,409,003.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,133,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,221,620.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Chipotle Mexican Grill news, Director Albert S. Baldocchi sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.32, for a total transaction of $3,166,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,362,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $86,273,772.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 320,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.72, for a total value of $20,409,003.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,133,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,221,620.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 550,750 shares of company stock worth $35,023,769 over the last three months. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chipotle Mexican Grill

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Railway Pension Investments Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,163,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 13,490 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $39,212,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 8,082 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $23,864,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. Alexander Labrunerie & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,427,000. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 166.4% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,067,000 after buying an additional 659 shares in the last quarter. 91.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.