Here’s Why You Should Look Into Buying Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) Shares

Pershing Square Capital Management, an investment management firm, published its fourth-quarter 2021 investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. An annual portfolio net return of 26.9% was recorded by the fund for the whole year of 2021, versus the S&P 500 Index, the FTSE 100, and MSCI World Index that delivered a 28.7%, 17.4%, and 22.3% return respectively for the same period. Spare some time to check the fund’s top 5 holdings to have a clue about their top bets for 2022.

Pershing Square Capital Management, in its Q4 2021 investor letter, mentioned Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) and discussed its stance on the firm. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. is a Newport Beach, California-based restaurant company with a $42.7 billion market capitalization. CMG delivered a -12.87% return since the beginning of the year, while its 12-month returns are up by 3.41%. The stock closed at $1,523.32 per share on February 19, 2022.

Here is what Pershing Square Capital Management has to say about Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. in its Q4 2021 investor letter:

“Chipotle’s superb performance continued in 2021 driven by ongoing strength in digital sales and a recovery of in-store ordering.

Average restaurant sales have now eclipsed the 2015 peak of $2.5mm.

-Same-store sales grew 19% in 2021, or 21% from 2019 levels.
-Strong contribution from innovations including the quesadilla and smoked brisket.
-Superlative value proposition drives pricing power and protects margins.
-Chicken burrito/bowl still priced below $8 in most parts of the country.
-Longer-term opportunity to drive average restaurant sales well beyond $3mm.

Chipotle has a long runway for robust growth.

✓ New unit growth algorithm of 8% to 10% annually.
✓ Chipotlane digital drive-thrus now in 12% of existing and 80% of new stores.
✓ Menu innovations and loyalty program enhancements.
✓ Operating leverage with 40% incremental restaurant margins.
✓ Plans for international expansion given success achieved in Canada. CMG’s share price increased 26% in 2021 and has decreased 16% year-todate in 2022.”

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Our calculations show that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) failed to obtain a mark on our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. CMG was in 47 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2021, compared to 39 funds in the previous quarter. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) delivered a -13.20% return in the past 3 months.

In November 2021, we also shared another hedge fund’s views on CMG in another article. You can find other letters from hedge funds and prominent investors on our hedge fund investor letters 2021 Q4 page.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.