McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Earns “Buy” Rating from BTIG Research

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by research analysts at BTIG Research in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $350.00 target price on the fast-food giant’s stock. BTIG Research’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 30.43% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently commented on MCD. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of McDonald’s from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $306.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $365.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $375.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $330.36.

McDonald’s Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE MCD opened at $268.35 on Wednesday. McDonald’s has a 12 month low of $260.96 and a 12 month high of $341.75. The stock has a market cap of $190.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $274.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $297.05.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The fast-food giant reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.13 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 442.10% and a net margin of 31.62%.The company’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.19 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that McDonald’s will post 12.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 5,252 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.32, for a total transaction of $1,493,248.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,198,930.88. The trade was a 40.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,763 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.36, for a total transaction of $769,108.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,744,760.48. This trade represents a 30.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 8,348 shares of company stock valued at $2,355,634 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth $2,890,438,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 30,979.0% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,596,340 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $806,917,000 after acquiring an additional 2,587,986 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 9,867.5% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,541,008 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $776,608,000 after acquiring an additional 2,515,515 shares during the period. Viking Global Investors LP boosted its position in McDonald’s by 171.7% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 3,125,432 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $913,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974,998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in McDonald’s by 49.9% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,104,337 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $948,779,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033,041 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about McDonald’s

Here are the key news stories impacting McDonald’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s reported adjusted earnings of $3.38 per share, ahead of the $3.32 analyst consensus and up from $3.19 a year earlier. Revenue rose 3.7% to $7.10 billion, while stronger franchised margins and record restaurant margins supported profits despite revenue coming in slightly below expectations. McDonald’s Q2 Earnings Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Comparable sales increased across all three operating segments, with international markets providing important support as the U.S. business slowed. Management said the company sees an opportunity to improve value, service and food quality in the domestic market. McDonald’s posts strong second quarter profit
• Neutral Sentiment: McDonald’s appointed longtime executive Skye Anderson as president of McDonald’s USA, replacing Joe Erlinger. Anderson will oversee nearly 14,000 U.S. restaurants and is tasked with restoring traffic and improving execution; the change offers a potential turnaround catalyst but also highlights the urgency of the domestic slowdown. McDonald’s names Skye Anderson as U.S. president
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. comparable sales rose only 0.8%, down from 2.5% a year earlier and below expectations. Traffic weakened as lower-income consumers remained under pressure from elevated prices and gas costs. McDonald’s US sales disappoint
• Negative Sentiment: The company acknowledged that its value strategy became overly complicated: too many simultaneous promotions and reduced digital deal activity confused customers and employees, failing to bring back enough loyal diners. McDonald’s also delayed its goal of reaching 50,000 global restaurants from 2027 to 2028, signaling a more cautious growth outlook. McDonald’s admits its value meals have become too confusing

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is a global quick-service restaurant company best known for its hamburgers, French fries and breakfast offerings. The company develops, operates and franchises a system of restaurants that sell a range of food and beverage items, including signature products such as the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets, McCafé coffee beverages and a variety of salads, desserts and seasonal menu items. McDonald’s serves customers through company-operated restaurants and franchised locations, and it supports sales via dine-in, drive-thru, digital ordering platforms and third-party delivery partnerships.

Founded in 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald as a single San Bernardino, California restaurant, the business was transformed into a franchising model after Ray Kroc joined in the mid-1950s and led the brand’s national and international expansion.