Chipotle Mexican Grill’s (CMG) Outperform Rating Reiterated at Sanford C. Bernstein

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by Sanford C. Bernstein in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $70.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s price target points to a potential upside of 20.08% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on CMG. Barclays upped their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Chipotle Mexican Grill has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.99.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of CMG stock opened at $58.30 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $60.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.72. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a 1 year low of $46.29 and a 1 year high of $69.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.26, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.27.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a return on equity of 43.20% and a net margin of 13.51%. Chipotle Mexican Grill’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Laurie Schalow sold 4,404 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total value of $286,304.04. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 185,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,078,337.92. This trade represents a 2.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chipotle Mexican Grill

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CMG. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 1.2% in the third quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 13,644 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $786,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 14,625 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $843,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Connable Office Inc. increased its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Connable Office Inc. now owns 31,928 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,840,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT raised its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 1,430 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Traynor Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,522 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $454,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. 91.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.