Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) Hits New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $43.00 to $41.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Chipotle Mexican Grill traded as low as $27.87 and last traded at $28.1070, with a volume of 27,863,324 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $29.65.

Several other brokerages have also commented on CMG. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 price target (down from $42.00) on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Thursday. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 price target (up from $45.00) on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $43.00 to $37.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective (down from $36.00) on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Thursday. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.47.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Matthew R. Bush sold 2,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total value of $95,631.25. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $765,586.25. This trade represents a 11.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Chipotle Mexican Grill

Here are the key news stories impacting Chipotle Mexican Grill this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue rose 9.6% to $3.29 billion, in line with expectations, while comparable-restaurant sales increased 2.1% and transactions grew for the third consecutive quarter. Value offers and limited-time menu items helped attract diners. Chipotle beats quarterly sales expectations on resilient demand
• Positive Sentiment: Investors responded favorably to signs of a traffic recovery following earlier food-safety concerns. New menu launches, refreshed loyalty benefits and plans to accelerate technology and menu innovation are supporting the turnaround. Chipotle Sales Beat as New Chicken, Chips Bring Diners Back
• Positive Sentiment: Chipotle opened 84 company-owned restaurants during the quarter, and its loyalty program surpassed 24 million members, providing additional long-term growth and customer-engagement potential. Chipotle: 3 Key Takeaways for Long-Term Investors
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts maintained bullish ratings, including DA Davidson and BTIG Research at $45 targets and Oppenheimer at a $51 target, implying substantial upside based on the supplied reference price. Oppenheimer analyst rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinion remains mixed: Citigroup kept a Buy rating while cutting its target to $41, whereas BNP Paribas Exane retained Neutral and reduced its target to $36. Bernstein also lowered its target to $43 from $50. Citigroup price target
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted earnings were $0.27 per share, below the $0.29 consensus and last year’s $0.29, as higher operating costs, beef prices and increased protein usage pressured margins. Chipotle Q3 earnings miss estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Management’s outlook calls for only modestly higher sales, leaving investors dependent on the fourth-quarter brisket launch, continued traffic gains and successful cost management to sustain the recovery. The rest of Chipotle’s year hinges on brisket

Institutional Trading of Chipotle Mexican Grill

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,417,475,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $383,483,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $265,887,000. Man Group plc acquired a new position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $240,389,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in the second quarter worth about $222,809,000. 91.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Up 9.1%

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $33.20 and its 200 day moving average is $34.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.65 billion, a PE ratio of 28.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.96.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 11.43% and a return on equity of 54.65%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 1.14 EPS for the current year.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Company Profile

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc (NYSE: CMG) operates a chain of fast-casual restaurants focused on Mexican-inspired food. Its menu includes burritos, burrito bowls, tacos, quesadillas and salads, with options such as chicken, steak, barbacoa, carnitas, sofritas and vegetables. The company emphasizes preparing food in its restaurants from ingredients it describes as responsibly sourced, including meats raised with attention to animal welfare and produce from selected suppliers.

Founded by Steve Ells in 1993, Chipotle opened its first restaurant in Denver, Colorado.