Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) Hits New 12-Month High on Earnings Beat

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

The restaurant operator reported $13.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.63 by $1.74. The business had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.67 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 44.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CMG. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,700.00 to $2,920.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,246.00 to $2,400.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,850.00 to $3,200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,500.00 to $2,986.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,450.00 to $2,550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $2,882.68.

Insider Activity at Chipotle Mexican Grill

In related news, CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 1,996 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $53,870,779.77. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Roger E. Theodoredis sold 898 shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 1,996 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,399.91, for a total transaction of $4,790,220.36. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,793 shares of company stock valued at $18,321,152 in the last three months. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chipotle Mexican Grill

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 23,151 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased 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 purchasing an additional 8,541 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 1.5% during the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 509,953 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $934,147,000 after purchasing an additional 7,677 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 449,942 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $824,217,000 after buying an additional 24,991 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 399,902 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $732,552,000 after buying 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 Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $81.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $2,801.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $2,411.76.

Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill are set to split before the market opens on Wednesday, June 26th. The 50-1 split was announced on Tuesday, March 19th. The newly minted shares will be distributed 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.