Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) Price Target Cut to $38.00 by Analysts at Stephens

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) had its target price cut by stock analysts at Stephens from $40.00 to $38.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Stephens’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 23.07% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on CMG. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Friday, July 31st. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 price target (down from $44.00) on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Monday, August 24th. Seaport Research Partners began coverage on Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $42.50 price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Chipotle Mexican Grill has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.83.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Up 1.2%

NYSE:CMG traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $30.88. The company had a trading volume of 4,172,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,673,578. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $34.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.49. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a one year low of $28.03 and a one year high of $42.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.07 billion, a PE ratio of 28.35, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.96.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.01. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 11.43% and a return on equity of 54.65%. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Chipotle Mexican Grill

In related news, insider Matthew R. Bush sold 2,675 shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total value of $95,631.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at $765,586.25. This trade represents a 11.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chipotle Mexican Grill

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,417,475,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 16,478,248 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $527,469,000 after purchasing an additional 2,727,762 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 23.3% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 11,980,192 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $383,486,000 after purchasing an additional 2,266,087 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 86.1% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,973,752 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $383,280,000 after purchasing an additional 5,541,385 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 30.6% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,845,627 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $368,751,000 after buying an additional 2,541,795 shares during the period. 91.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Chipotle Mexican Grill

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc is a fast-casual restaurant company that specializes in Mexican-inspired food made with a limited number of core ingredients. Its menu includes burritos, burrito bowls, tacos, quesadillas, salads and sides, with options such as chicken, steak, barbacoa, carnitas, sofritas and vegetables. The company also offers beverages, including soft drinks and other drinks, and allows customers to customize meals.

Founded by Steve Ells in 1993, Chipotle operates company-owned restaurants under the Chipotle Mexican Grill brand.