Topic: Wealth Management

Stock investment tips: Chipotle’s earnings rise as expansion continues

Chipotle Mexican Grill, symbol CMG on New York, is a Denver-based Mexican-restaurant chain.

In the three months ended June 30, 2011, Chipotle’s revenue rose 22.4%, to $571.6 million from $466.8 million a year earlier. The company’s restaurants attracted more customers during the quarter. That pushed up its same-restaurant sales by 10.0%. As well, Chipotle opened 39 new outlets. It now has a total of 1,131 locations.

We analyze Chipotle in Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter that gives you stock investment tips for the part of your portfolio you devote to aggressive investments.

Earnings rose 9.0%, to $50.7 million from $46.5 million. Earnings per share rose 10.1%, to $1.63 from $1.48, on fewer shares outstanding. Even so, the latest earnings missed the consensus forecast of $1.68 a share. That’s mainly because the company’s food costs rose, and it paid higher labour costs after it replaced illegal workers in the wake of a U.S. government probe of illegal immigrant hiring.

The company plans to open 135 to 145 new restaurants in 2011.

We updated our advice on Chipotle and four other stocks that may be appropriate for the aggressive portion of your portfolio in our July 22, 2011, Stock Pickers Digest hotline, which you can immediately view when you take a 1-month free trial to Stock Pickers Digest.

Click here to learn how you can start profiting from Stock Pickers Digest’s aggressive stock investment tips right away.

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