Royal Bank of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) Stock

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) had its price target lifted by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target indicates a potential upside of 16.64% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Chipotle Mexican Grill has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.55.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Down 0.8 %

CMG traded down $0.50 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $64.30. The company had a trading volume of 876,656 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,344,157. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a 52 week low of $44.08 and a 52 week high of $69.26. The stock has a market cap of $87.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.09, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.21.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 13.51% and a return on equity of 43.20%. The firm’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 company earned $0.23 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Chipotle Mexican Grill

In other Chipotle Mexican Grill news, insider Curtis E. Garner sold 15,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.05, for a total value of $898,537.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 457,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,115,436.20. This represents a 3.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Laurie Schalow sold 4,404 shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total transaction of $286,304.04. Following the sale, the insider now owns 185,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,078,337.92. This represents a 2.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chipotle Mexican Grill

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CMG. NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd purchased a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $470,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 137.3% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 674 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 6,049.4% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 320,997 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $20,110,000 after purchasing an additional 315,777 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4,378.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 16,750 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 16,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Global Investments acquired a new stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $310,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.31% of the company’s stock.

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.