Topic: Growth Stocks

Stock Pickers Digest Hotline – Friday, February 7, 2014

Article Excerpt

CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL INC., $549.29, symbol CMG on New York, is a Denver-based Mexican restaurant chain. In the three months ended December 31, 2013, Chipotle’s sales rose 20.7%, to $844.1 million from $699.2 million a year earlier. The company’s restaurants attracted more customers in the latest quarter, which pushed up same-restaurant sales by 9.3%. It also opened 56 new outlets, bringing its total to 1,595. For all of 2013, the company opened 185 restaurants. It plans to add 180 to 195 more this year. Earnings rose 29.6%, to $79.6 million from $61.6 million. Per-share earnings gained 31.1%, to $2.57 from $1.96, on fewer shares outstanding. Chipotle’s earnings would have been even higher, but it spent 33.4% of its sales on food and ingredients in the latest quarter, up from 32.6% a year ago. Prices rose particularly sharply for meat, dairy products and salsa ingredients. The company operates in the fickle and extremely competitive U.S. restaurant market. The shares are now well above their…