Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) was the target of a large drop in short interest during 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. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s shares 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 Trading Down 3.9 %

Shares of NYSE:CMG traded down $1.93 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $47.72. 17,971,447 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,159,245. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a 52-week low of $47.57 and a 52-week high of $69.26. The business’s fifty day moving average is $55.25 and its 200-day moving average is $57.89.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 13.56% and a return on equity of 42.92%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CMG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eight 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.85.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,093,345,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in the fourth quarter worth approximately $692,701,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4,138,574.1% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 8,318,735 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $501,620,000 after purchasing an additional 8,318,534 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 30,100,520 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,815,061,000 after purchasing an additional 6,853,470 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill during the fourth quarter valued at about $315,220,000. 91.31% of the stock is 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.