Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) Sets New 1-Year High on Strong Earnings

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $3,026.00 and last traded at $3,026.00, with a volume of 4855 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $2,926.76.

The restaurant operator reported $13.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.63 by $1.74. The company had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.67 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a return on equity of 44.41% and a net margin of 12.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CMG. Raymond James raised their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,450.00 to $2,550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $3,400.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $3,100.00 to $3,300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $3,016.00 to $3,358.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,246.00 to $2,400.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Chipotle Mexican Grill presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $2,882.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Chipotle Mexican Grill

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,707,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,191,334,000 after buying an additional 23,151 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,125,974 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,575,057,000 after buying an additional 8,541 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 1.5% in the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 509,953 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $934,147,000 after purchasing an additional 7,677 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 449,942 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $824,217,000 after purchasing an additional 24,991 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 399,902 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $732,552,000 after purchasing an additional 13,482 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.31% of the company’s stock.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Up 1.3 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $2,801.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2,411.76. The stock has a market cap of $81.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.91, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.28.

Chipotle Mexican Grill shares are set to split on the morning of Wednesday, June 26th. The 50-1 split was announced on Tuesday, March 19th. The newly issued shares will be payable to shareholders after the closing bell on Tuesday, June 25th.

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.