Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases New Shares in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. $CMG

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 106,153 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $3,609,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CMG. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the second quarter worth $948,000. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill during the 2nd quarter worth $1,406,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 4th quarter worth about $711,837,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 156.9% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 58,269 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,156,000 after acquiring an additional 35,589 shares during the period. Finally, PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab lifted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 40.2% during the second quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab now owns 268,771 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $9,138,000 after purchasing an additional 77,002 shares during the last quarter. 91.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Trading Up 2.3%

Chipotle Mexican Grill stock opened at $38.08 on Friday. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.03 and a 1-year high of $42.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.19 billion, a PE ratio of 34.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.94.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.01. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 11.43% and a return on equity of 54.65%. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.33 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CMG shares. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $38.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on 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. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $42.50 price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Chipotle Mexican Grill from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Twenty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.84.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Matthew R. Bush sold 2,675 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total transaction of $95,631.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 21,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $765,586.25. The trade was a 11.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

About Chipotle Mexican Grill

Chipotle Mexican Grill is a fast-casual restaurant company known for its Mexican-inspired menu of burritos, bowls, tacos and salads. Founded in 1993 by Steve Ells, the chain emphasizes fresh, customizable meals made from a limited menu of core ingredients and a focus on ingredient quality. Chipotle operates primarily company-owned restaurants and offers dine-in, takeout, catering and delivery through its own digital platforms and third-party partners.

The company is headquartered in Newport Beach, California, and traces its roots to Denver, Colorado.