Topic: How To Invest

Power Growth Investor Hotline – Friday, April 24, 2020

Article Excerpt

CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL INC., $882.47, is a buy. The stock, symbol CMG on New York, lets you tap this Mexican restaurant chain, headquartered in Denver. The company is a fast-food leader charging slightly higher prices than its competitors but offering better quality food, including naturally raised meat. In the three months ended March 31, 2020, the company’s sales rose 7.8%, to $1.41 billion from $1.31 billion a year earlier. Before COVID-19 hit the U.S., Chipotle had a strong start to the year, growing same-restaurant sales 14.4% through the end of February. However, comparable sales fell 16% in March, which cut same-restaurant sales growth for the quarter to 3.3%. Per-share earnings fell 9.4% in the latest quarter, to $3.08 from $3.40. The decline was primarily due to an increase in restaurant closure costs as well as costs related to business restructuring because of the COVID-19 crisis. As a result of the pandemic, nearly 100 restaurants were temporarily shut. Even so, the latest earnings…