Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) Trading Up 1.8% – Should You Buy?

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) shares traded up 1.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $60.48 and last traded at $60.33. 1,727,809 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 13,856,396 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.27.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CMG shares. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $54.50 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Chipotle Mexican Grill currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.27.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Trading Down 2.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $79.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $58.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.06.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 13.51% and a return on equity of 43.20%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.23 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chipotle Mexican Grill

In other news, Director Robin S. Hickenlooper sold 1,790 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.38, for a total value of $100,920.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 41,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,340,333.80. This represents a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis E. Garner sold 15,750 shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 473,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,052,740.28. This trade represents a 3.22 % decrease in their position. 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 three months. 1.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chipotle Mexican Grill

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4,732.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 20,177,309 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,264,109,000 after purchasing an additional 19,759,754 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5,209.5% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,935,669 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $685,128,000 after buying an additional 10,729,706 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5,930.8% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,310,132 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $645,930,000 after buying an additional 10,139,174 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4,816.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,356,173 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $523,514,000 after buying an additional 8,186,198 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 76,617.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,904,952 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $369,945,000 after acquiring an additional 5,897,255 shares in the last quarter. 91.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.