Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) Short Interest Update

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 17,590,000 shares, a drop of 23.7% from the February 13th total of 23,060,000 shares. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 10,730,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CMG traded down $0.51 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $49.52. The company had a trading volume of 2,955,905 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,097,346. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $55.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.94. The company has a market capitalization of $67.11 billion, a PE ratio of 44.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a one year low of $47.98 and a one year high of $69.26.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 13.56% and a return on equity of 42.92%. Research analysts expect that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Chipotle Mexican Grill

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CMG. United Bank increased its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 36,851 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,123,000 after purchasing an additional 4,451 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 25.7% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 4,217 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 863 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,864 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $972,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 199,610 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $11,502,000 after acquiring an additional 14,868 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill during the 3rd quarter worth $237,000. Institutional investors own 91.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CMG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wedbush lowered their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.85.

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.