Citigroup Raises Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) Price Target to $71.00

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) had its target price boosted by research analysts at Citigroup from $67.38 to $71.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, July 12th, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Citigroup’s target price indicates a potential upside of 34.16% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $65.70 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $3,400.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.90.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Performance

NYSE CMG traded down $0.64 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $52.92. The company had a trading volume of 9,826,685 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,820,297. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a 1-year low of $35.37 and a 1-year high of $69.26. The company has a market cap of $72.68 billion, a PE ratio of 57.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50 day moving average of $126.34 and a 200-day moving average of $79.82.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.04. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 43.74%. The business had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.67 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chipotle Mexican Grill

In other news, CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 320,300 shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.72, for a total transaction of $20,409,003.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,133,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,221,620.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 320,300 shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.72, for a total value of $20,409,003.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,133,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,221,620.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Scott Boatwright sold 55,000 shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.80, for a total value of $3,509,176.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 120,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,694,665.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 550,750 shares of company stock worth $35,023,769. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Chipotle Mexican Grill

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. RMR Wealth Builders lifted its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5,871.2% in the second quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 18,630 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 18,318 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,463,000. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4,900.0% in the second quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,950 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 3,871 shares during the last quarter. United Bank lifted its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5,100.6% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 32,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,030,000 after purchasing an additional 31,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY bought a new stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the second quarter valued at approximately $241,000. Institutional investors 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.