Zacks Research Estimates McDonald’s’ Q1 Earnings (NYSE:MCD)

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) – Zacks Research cut their Q1 2027 earnings estimates for shares of McDonald’s in a report released on Wednesday, November 19th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the fast-food giant will earn $3.09 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $3.14. The consensus estimate for McDonald’s’ current full-year earnings is $12.25 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for McDonald’s’ Q3 2027 earnings at $3.85 EPS.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.33 by ($0.11). McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 225.52% and a net margin of 32.21%.The business had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $322.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on McDonald’s from $381.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $324.57.

McDonald’s Price Performance

McDonald’s stock traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $302.51. The company had a trading volume of 1,508,999 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,418,452. The firm has a market cap of $215.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.50. McDonald’s has a 12-month low of $276.53 and a 12-month high of $326.32. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $302.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $304.41.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nova Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 162.5% in the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 84 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 142.9% in the 2nd quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 85 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $315,000.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 6,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,160,270. This represents a 12.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert sold 13,134 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.42, for a total value of $3,945,716.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,383,734.52. This represents a 74.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 17,329 shares of company stock worth $5,237,811 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 63.48%.

About McDonald’s

McDonald’s Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K.