TD Cowen Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG)

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by research analysts at TD Cowen in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $44.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock. TD Cowen’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 33.48% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on CMG. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Friday, December 19th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.47.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Trading Up 1.0%

CMG stock opened at $32.96 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $37.61 and a 200-day moving average of $37.32. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a 12-month low of $29.75 and a 12-month high of $58.42. The company has a market cap of $42.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.92, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.00.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a return on equity of 47.99% and a net margin of 12.88%.The business had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,804 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 26,460 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,368 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 12,464 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $700,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential PLC raised its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 45.5% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 83,073 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,665,000 after purchasing an additional 25,973 shares in the last quarter. 91.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Chipotle Mexican Grill

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.