Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) Stock Price Up 6.3% – Still a Buy?

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) shares traded up 6.3% on Thursday. The company traded as high as $31.16 and last traded at $32.7060. 963,591 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 94% from the average session volume of 17,313,570 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.77.

More Chipotle Mexican Grill News

Here are the key news stories impacting Chipotle Mexican Grill this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue rose 9.6% to $3.29 billion, in line with expectations, while comparable-restaurant sales increased 2.1% and transactions grew for the third consecutive quarter. Value offers and limited-time menu items helped attract diners. Chipotle beats quarterly sales expectations on resilient demand
• Positive Sentiment: Investors responded favorably to signs of a traffic recovery following earlier food-safety concerns. New menu launches, refreshed loyalty benefits and plans to accelerate technology and menu innovation are supporting the turnaround. Chipotle Sales Beat as New Chicken, Chips Bring Diners Back
• Positive Sentiment: Chipotle opened 84 company-owned restaurants during the quarter, and its loyalty program surpassed 24 million members, providing additional long-term growth and customer-engagement potential. Chipotle: 3 Key Takeaways for Long-Term Investors
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts maintained bullish ratings, including DA Davidson and BTIG Research at $45 targets and Oppenheimer at a $51 target, implying substantial upside based on the supplied reference price. Oppenheimer analyst rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinion remains mixed: Citigroup kept a Buy rating while cutting its target to $41, whereas BNP Paribas Exane retained Neutral and reduced its target to $36. Bernstein also lowered its target to $43 from $50. Citigroup price target
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted earnings were $0.27 per share, below the $0.29 consensus and last year’s $0.29, as higher operating costs, beef prices and increased protein usage pressured margins. Chipotle Q3 earnings miss estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Management’s outlook calls for only modestly higher sales, leaving investors dependent on the fourth-quarter brisket launch, continued traffic gains and successful cost management to sustain the recovery. The rest of Chipotle’s year hinges on brisket

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price (down from $45.00) on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $40.00 target price (down from $42.00) on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Thursday. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Gordon Haskett lowered their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Chipotle Mexican Grill presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.47.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $39.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $33.20 and a 200 day moving average of $34.21.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a return on equity of 54.65% and a net margin of 11.43%. The company’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Matthew R. Bush sold 2,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total value of $95,631.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at $765,586.25. This trade represents a 11.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Chipotle Mexican Grill

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CMG. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,417,475,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the second quarter worth about $383,483,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in the second quarter worth approximately $265,887,000. Man Group plc bought a new position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in the second quarter worth approximately $240,389,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill during the second quarter valued at approximately $222,809,000. 91.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Chipotle Mexican Grill

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc (NYSE: CMG) operates a chain of fast-casual restaurants focused on Mexican-inspired food. Its menu includes burritos, burrito bowls, tacos, quesadillas and salads, with options such as chicken, steak, barbacoa, carnitas, sofritas and vegetables. The company emphasizes preparing food in its restaurants from ingredients it describes as responsibly sourced, including meats raised with attention to animal welfare and produce from selected suppliers.

Founded by Steve Ells in 1993, Chipotle opened its first restaurant in Denver, Colorado.