Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG) is soaring as estimates climb and investors pour in ahead of the upcoming earnings release.
Company Description
Chipotle is a fast food restaurant offering burritos, tacos, and other variations of standard Mexican dishes. The company focuses on fresh ingredients using classic cooking techniques. Currently there are almost 1,000 locations.
Another Big Beat
On Feb 11 Chipotle reported quarterly results that included earnings per share of 99 cents, 18 cents higher than expected. This was the fifth consecutive earnings surprise. The last 4 have all been over 20%.
Revenue for the quarter was up 12% to $388 million, with a 2% increase in comparable sales. Net income came in at $31.6 million, 86% higher than one year ago. The EPS number was a 90% improvement.
Expanding in 2010
In the same release, Chipotle said that it expected to open more than 120 new locations this year. The earnings results, coupled with projected expansion, lead to a jump on the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
Projections for 2010 are averaging $4.43, up from $4.13 before the latest earnings report. Next year’s Zacks Consensus Estimate is $5.18, up form $4.80. These levels represent growth rates of 12% and 17%, respectively.
The Chart
Shares of CMG have taken off over the past few days as investors are buying into the company’s earnings release on Apr 21. The MACD have just triggered a buy signal for some momentum-based traders as well.
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