Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) in a research report report published on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $70.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock.

CMG has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. 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. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Chipotle Mexican Grill has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.27.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE CMG traded down $1.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $58.63. 6,743,957 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,851,402. The firm has a market cap of $79.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.26. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a 1-year low of $43.10 and a 1-year high of $69.26. The stock 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 13.51% and a return on equity of 43.20%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Chipotle Mexican Grill

In related news, Director Robin S. Hickenlooper sold 1,790 shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis E. Garner sold 15,750 shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.05, for a total value of $898,537.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 457,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,115,436.20. This trade represents a 3.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,290 shares of company stock worth $1,866,023 in the last quarter. 1.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chipotle Mexican Grill

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CMG. Pacific Center for Financial Services grew its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services now owns 54 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 3.7% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 136 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 7 shares during the period. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 225.0% in the 1st quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 13 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pitcairn Co. lifted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 8.4% during the first quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 168 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. 91.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Company Profile

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.