Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) Stock Gets Price Target Boost from Morgan Stanley

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) had its price objective raised by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $39.00 to $40.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 29.73% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on CMG. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Seaport Research Partners assumed coverage on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.87.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:CMG traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $30.83. The stock had a trading volume of 4,647,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,675,414. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.49. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a 12-month low of $28.03 and a 12-month high of $42.74. The stock has a market cap of $39.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.96.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.33 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 11.43% and a return on equity of 54.65%. Chipotle Mexican Grill’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chipotle Mexican Grill

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CMG. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill during the second quarter worth $4,417,475,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 19.8% in the first 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 last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 23.3% in the first 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 last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the second quarter valued at $383,483,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.30% of the company’s stock.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Company Profile

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.