Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) Given “Buy” Rating at TD Cowen

TD Cowen reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $2,900.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock.

CMG has been the subject of several other research reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $1,930.00 to $2,226.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,450.00 to $2,560.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,100.00 to $2,400.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,600.00 to $2,800.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Argus upped their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $3,265.00 to $3,366.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $2,633.33.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Price Performance

CMG stock opened at $2,966.34 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $2,729.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $2,336.23. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a fifty-two week low of $1,693.88 and a fifty-two week high of $3,023.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.34 billion, a PE ratio of 66.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.28.

Chipotle Mexican Grill’s stock is set to split before the market opens on Wednesday, June 26th. The 50-1 split was announced on Tuesday, March 19th. The newly created shares will be payable to shareholders after the closing bell on Tuesday, June 25th.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The restaurant operator reported $10.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.73 by $0.63. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 44.41%. The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $8.29 EPS. Chipotle Mexican Grill’s revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 53.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 1,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,399.91, for a total value of $4,790,220.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,870,779.77. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Chipotle Mexican Grill news, CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 1,996 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,399.91, for a total value of $4,790,220.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,870,779.77. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Roger E. Theodoredis sold 898 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,622.25, for a total transaction of $2,354,780.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,529 shares in the company, valued at $4,009,420.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,793 shares of company stock valued at $18,321,152. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. IMA Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 185.7% during the first quarter. IMA Wealth Inc. now owns 20 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. 91.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.