Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) Earns Outperform Rating from Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

Equities researchers at Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target indicates a potential upside of 19.39% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on CMG. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $68.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.27.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Price Performance

CMG opened at $58.63 on Friday. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a 12 month low of $43.10 and a 12 month high of $69.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.06.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a return on equity of 43.20% and a net margin of 13.51%. Chipotle Mexican Grill’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.23 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Chipotle Mexican Grill news, Director Robin S. Hickenlooper sold 1,790 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.38, for a total transaction of $100,920.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 41,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,340,333.80. This trade represents a 4.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis E. Garner sold 15,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total transaction of $866,565.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 473,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,052,740.28. This represents a 3.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 33,290 shares of company stock valued at $1,866,023. Insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacific Center for Financial Services raised its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services now owns 54 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 3.7% in the first quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 140 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 5 shares during the period. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC lifted its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5.4% during the first quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 136 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 225.0% during the first quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 13 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the period. Finally, Pitcairn Co. increased its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 8.4% in the first quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 168 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $488,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.31% of the company’s stock.

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.