McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at HSBC

HSBC assumed coverage on shares of McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) in a research note released on Thursday,Zacks reports. The brokerage issued a strong-buy rating on the fast-food giant’s stock.

MCD has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on McDonald’s from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Gordon Haskett cut their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. HC Wainwright set a $250.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $290.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.82.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of MCD traded down $1.68 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $276.36. 6,331,310 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,495,061. The firm has a market cap of $195.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.42. McDonald’s has a 52 week low of $229.20 and a 52 week high of $341.75. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $248.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $282.57.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The fast-food giant reported $3.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $7.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 572.06% and a net margin of 31.72%. The company’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.22 EPS. Analysts forecast that McDonald’s will post 12.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $1.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $7.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.86%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,359,276,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 132.1% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,325,880 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $412,071,000 after purchasing an additional 754,596 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in McDonald’s by 1.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,080,505 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $9,752,921,000 after buying an additional 646,675 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in McDonald’s by 17.2% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,637,785 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,130,587,000 after buying an additional 533,448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ascentis Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 23,222.1% during the second quarter. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC now owns 478,103 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $129,236,000 after buying an additional 476,053 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting McDonald’s

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

• Positive Sentiment: Argus raised its price target to $320 from $310 and reiterated a “buy” rating, signaling confidence in the stock’s prospects. Argus rating
• Neutral Sentiment: McDonald’s is testing value bundles at nearly 2,000 U.S. restaurants, ahead of a planned national value platform in early 2027. The deals may help bring back customers, but the company is still assessing their effect on traffic and orders. McDonald’s value-bundle test
• Neutral Sentiment: Third-quarter profit beat analyst estimates, but revenue missed and U.S. comparable sales declined. That mixed backdrop helps explain why investors are watching for evidence that value promotions can sustain a domestic recovery. Q3 earnings and U.S. traffic
• Negative Sentiment: Consumers have filed a lawsuit alleging McDonald’s labeled McCafé drinks “sugar free” despite some containing as much as 18 grams of sugar. The allegations are unproven, but the case could create legal and reputational risk. McCafé labeling lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Freedom Broker cut its rating from “buy” to “hold” and lowered its price target to $298 from $305, adding a more cautious view alongside the recent analyst optimism. Freedom Broker rating change

About McDonald’s

McDonald’s Corporation is a global quick-service restaurant company that operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald’s brand. Its restaurants serve a menu that includes hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, French fries, breakfast items, desserts, salads, beverages and coffee. Offerings vary by market, and many locations provide drive-thru service, delivery and digital ordering through the McDonald’s mobile app.

The company operates through a heavily franchised business model, with restaurants owned and operated by independent franchisees, affiliates and the company itself.