Mizuho Reiterates Outperform Rating for Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG)

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Mizuho in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $43.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock. Mizuho’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 14.44% from the company’s current price.

CMG has been the subject of several other reports. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 target price (down from $44.00) on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $38.00 to $35.00 in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective (up from $50.00) on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Tuesday. Twenty-four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.22.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE:CMG traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $37.57. 4,730,123 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,806,396. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $34.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.90. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a fifty-two week low of $28.03 and a fifty-two week high of $42.81. The firm has a market cap of $47.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.53, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.94.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.33 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a return on equity of 54.65% and a net margin of 11.43%.Chipotle Mexican Grill’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.33 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 1.14 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Matthew R. Bush sold 2,675 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider directly owned 21,415 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chipotle Mexican Grill

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,417,475,000. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 101,688,010 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,762,457,000 after purchasing an additional 13,843,222 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 3,133.9% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 66,453,578 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,259,422,000 after purchasing an additional 64,398,656 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 58,447,867 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,162,572,000 after purchasing an additional 9,237,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 45,294,212 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,675,895,000 after purchasing an additional 6,796,285 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.30% of the company’s stock.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Company Profile

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.