Shares of fast-casual restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (NASDAQ:CMG) are up Tuesday after the company’s board authorized $500 million in stock repurchases, increasing its total authorization to $750 million.
What To Know: Chipotle’s board approved a tripling of its stock buyback, adding $500 million to its total authorization. The company noted that it normally announces buybacks when it reports third-quarter results, but decided to announce the additional authorization early “to be in a position to opportunistically repurchase shares.”
Chipotle repurchased $435.9 million of its stock in its most recent quarter and ended the period with approximately $844.52 million in cash and cash equivalents. Chipotle is scheduled to report third-quarter financial results at the end of October.
The upward movement in Chipotle shares is a welcome sign for investors who have seen the stock fall approximately 35% year-to-date. Chipotle hit 52-week lows earlier this week before bouncing back. The stock has traded lower in recent trading sessions despite an announcement last week that the company would be expanding to Asia for the first time, planning to open restaurants in South Korea and Singapore next year.
CMG Price Action: Shares of Chipotle were up 1.71%, trading at $39.24 at the time of publication Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro.
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