5 Best Food Stocks To Buy Now

3. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 55

Tacos and burritos chain Chipotle is one of the best food stocks to buy now according to hedge funds. As of the end of the second quarter of 2023, 55 hedge funds had stakes in the company. The biggest stakeholder of the company was Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square which owns a $2 billion stake in the company.

Pershing Square Holdings made the following comment about Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) in its Q2 2023 investor letter:

“Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG)’s business strength continued in 2023, driven by the company’s focus on exceptional food and operational excellence. During the second quarter, Chipotle grew same-store sales by 7.4%, or 40% from 2019 levels. Transactions grew 4.4%, a sequential improvement compared to the first quarter, and price increases from 2022 contributed 5.5% offset somewhat by a shift from group to individual orders which was a 2.5% headwind. The negative group to individual impact should shrink in the balance of the year and cease to be a headwind as we enter 2024.

Chipotle’s ongoing traffic momentum is fueled by improving in-restaurant execution and its continued cadence of successful menu innovation. The current limited time offering, chicken al pastor, is ordered in one out of every five transactions. Management plans to launch a new limited time offering later in the third quarter. Unlike most competitors, Chipotle has not yet taken pricing in 2023, thereby further improving its industry-leading value proposition. Management did, however, signal its openness to increasing menu prices later this year if cost inflation persists…” (Click here to read the full text)