CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:
We lift our 12-month target price to $2,630 from $2,110, 49.6x our 2024 EPS, a discount to CMG’s five-year average forward P/E of 63.6x. We keep our 2023 EPS estimate at $44.58 but raise our 2024 EPS estimate to $52.99 (from $52.69). Despite CMG shares rallying by an impressive 20% since its Q3 earnings call, we are still confident in the potential for further upside in 2024. While we expect some ongoing inflation pressures, particularly from food costs (primarily beef) and labor, we maintain a positive outlook given the anticipated impact of lower interest rates on CMG’s core operations, coupled with its robust growth prospects relative to peers. Moreover, we think CMG remains strategically well positioned to capitalize on its higher menu prices and drive sales growth in the near term, as evidenced by the resilience in customer traffic trends among higher-income demographics in Q3.