Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG - Analyst Report) is trending higher in a tough market as the company continues to grow its revenue and open new stores.

Company Description

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. develops and operates casual dining restaurants in the United States and Canada. The company operates more than 850 restaurants and has a market cap of $3.06 billion.

Second-Quarter Results

Chipotle gave its share price a very nice boost on July 22 when it reported strong second-quarter results that were better than expected. Sales were up 14% from last year to $389 million. Income came in at $35.4 million, producing earnings of $1.10 per share, safely ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 88 cents.

The company noted that its same-store sales, a key retail metric, were up 1.7% from last year on higher prices. Chipotle also said it expects same-store sales to rise in the low single digits for the rest of the year, with total new store openings between 120 and 130.

Estimates Jump

After the solid quarter, analysts boosted their earnings targets, with the current year climbing 39 cents to $3.39 per share. The next-year estimate is pegged at $3.90, a 15% earnings growth projection.

Valuation

Based on the current-year estimate, this stock has a P/E multiple of 28X, a steep premium to the overall markets multiple of about 16.5X.

The Chart

Shares of CMG have posted big gains over the last 4 months, rallying from a March low of $48 to a recent high above $97. Take a look below.

Read the full analyst report on CMG