Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) Upgraded at Cfra

Cfra upgraded shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $73.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock, up from their previous target price of $59.00.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on CMG. Barclays raised their price target 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 reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.31.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Performance

Shares of CMG stock opened at $57.29 on Wednesday. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a 52-week low of $47.98 and a 52-week high of $69.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $60.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.83.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a return on equity of 43.20% and a net margin of 13.51%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Chipotle Mexican Grill

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CMG. Transcendent Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 950.0% during the third quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 525 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.31% of the company’s stock.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Company Profile

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.