Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) Stock Price Down 6.4% on Analyst Downgrade

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) shares traded down 6.4% during trading on Wednesday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $71.00 to $70.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Chipotle Mexican Grill traded as low as $55.95 and last traded at $56.59. 10,912,419 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 22% from the average session volume of 13,917,833 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.49.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Raymond James cut their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $70.00 to $62.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 4th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $58.00 price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.47.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Curtis E. Garner sold 17,394 shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.68, for a total value of $951,103.92. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 358,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,591,844. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Curtis E. Garner sold 17,394 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.68, for a total value of $951,103.92. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 358,300 shares in the company, valued at $19,591,844. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robin S. Hickenlooper sold 1,790 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.38, for a total transaction of $100,920.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 41,510 shares in the company, valued at $2,340,333.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 50,684 shares of company stock valued at $2,817,127. Company insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CMG. Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson raised its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 1.1% during the first quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 378 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,099,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. Pacific Center for Financial Services lifted its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services now owns 54 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,033 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,003,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC grew its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 170 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $494,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the period. 91.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.14. The firm has a market cap of $76.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.25.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 13.23% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The business’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.23 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 1.08 EPS for the current fiscal 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.