Chipotle Mexican Grill’s Q4 ‘Was A Clean Beat,’ 9 Analysts Provide Key Takeaways

Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) climbed in premarket trading on Wednesday, after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results.

The results came amid an exciting earnings season. Here are some key analyst takeaways from the release.

Stephens analyst Joshua Long maintained an Overweight rating, while lifting the price target from $2,800 to $3,000.
Truist Securities analyst Jake Bartlett reiterated a Buy rating, while raising the price target from $2,700 to $2,920.
BMO Capital Markets analyst Andrew Strelzik reaffirmed a Market Perform rating, while lifting the price target from $2,100 to $2,400.
Stifel analyst Chris O’Cull maintained a Buy rating, while raising the price target from $2,560 to $2,700.
Baird analyst David Tarantino reiterated an Outperform rating, while lifting the price target from $2,650 to $2,850.
KeyBanc analyst Eric Gonzalez reaffirmed an Overweight rating, while raising the price target from $2,250 to $2,750.
Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Harbour maintained an Equal-Weight rating, while raising the price target from $2,284 to $2,500.
BofA Securities analyst Sara Senatore reiterated a Buy, while lifting the price target from $2,700 to $3,000.
Wedbush analyst Nick Setyan reaffirmed a Neutral rating and price target of $2,400.

Check out other analyst stock ratings.

Stephens: “Chipotle reported better-than-expected 4Q23 results across all major line items,” Long wrote in a note.

Although the company’s sales were impacted by adverse weather conditions in January, there has been a rebound, the analyst stated. “Chipotle remains well-positioned to offset the longer-term impact from rising labor costs through a balance of menu price, technology/automation investments, and operational execution initiatives.”

Truist Securities: Chipotle delivered an earnings beat on same-store sales and restaurant-level margins (RLM), Bartlett said.

“CMG is driving industry leading traffic (+7.4% in 4Q23) primarily via improved throughput as demand remains strong across customer income levels, giving us confidence that traffic will continue to grow with strong execution, irrespective of the macro environment,” the analyst wrote. He also expressed optimism around the company being able to expand margins in 2024, despite labor cost headwinds.

BMO…