What Chipotle Stock's 50-for-1 Split Means for Investors

Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) has given long-term investors plenty to cheer about. Over the past 15 years, Chipotle stock has averaged an annual gain of 28%, easily outpacing the S&P 500's 14.8% total return (price change plus dividends). And the burrito chain's next move could encourage a new crop of folks to look CMG's way.

After the close on Tuesday, June 25, Chipotle underwent a massive 50-for-1 stock split. And CMG stock will begin trading on a post-split basis at the open on Wednesday, June 26.

This marks the first stock split for CMG and one of the biggest in the history of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The split "will make our stock more accessible to employees as well as a broader range of investors," Jack Hartung, chief financial officer of Chipotle, said when the news was first announced back in March. "This split comes at a time when our stock is experiencing an all-time high driven by record revenues, profits, and growth."

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Indeed, in its first-quarter earnings report, Chipotle disclosed 14.1% year-over-year revenue growth to $2.7 billion. Earnings surged 37% to $13.37 per share. For the second quarter, analysts expect revenue to jump 16% and earnings per share to rise by 23%.

What does the Chipotle stock split mean?

As for Chipotle's stock split, it won't change anything about the company's fundamentals or market valuation. Rather, a stock split is similar to making change. In CMG's case, it will be equivalent to breaking a $50 bill into 50 $1 bills.

Based on CMG's June 25 close at $3,283, the 50-for-1 stock split will bring the share price to a little over $66. This should make it much more attractive for retail investors, as well as Chipotle employees participating in the company's stock purchase plan, who are unable to buy CMG stock at its four-figure share price.

Walmart (WMT) underwent a similar stock split earlier this year. The retailer cited the importance of keeping its "share price in a range where purchasing whole shares, rather than fractions, was accessible to all of our associates" as the reason behind its 3-for-1 stock split.

Nvidia (NVDA) also split its stock recently, while fellow chipmaker Broadcom (AVGO) also announced a major stock split in its fiscal second-quarter earnings report.

Wall Street says Chipotle stock's still a buy

After the news initially broke, Deutsche Bank analyst Lauren Silberman reiterated her Buy rating on Chipotle stock. "CMG has been among the best-performing restaurant stocks and we expect fundamental strength to continue to drive outperformance," Silberman writes in a note to clients.

The analyst adds that she has high conviction in Chipotle's near- and long-term growth outlooks. She believes "a premium multiple is warranted, noting there is scarcity value for a high-quality U.S. company with a clean balance sheet, strong fundamentals and potential upside to numbers."

Silberman is hardly alone in her bullish outlook toward the consumer discretionary stock. Of the 35 analysts covering Chipotle stock tracked by S&P Global Market Intelligence, 21 say it's a Strong Buy, two have it at Buy, 11 rate it a Hold and one has it at Strong Sell. This works out to a consensus Buy rating and with high conviction.

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