McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Freedom Broker

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) was downgraded by analysts at Freedom Broker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $298.00 price objective on the fast-food giant’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $305.00. Freedom Broker‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 7.17% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Evercore decreased their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. DZ Bank reissued a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Guggenheim cut their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $290.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, HSBC dropped their price target on McDonald’s from $357.00 to $356.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.53.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:MCD opened at $278.06 on Thursday. McDonald’s has a 1 year low of $229.20 and a 1 year high of $341.75. The stock has a market cap of $196.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.00, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $248.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $282.70.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The fast-food giant reported $3.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.38 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $7.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 671.56% and a net margin of 32.38%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.22 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,080,505 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $9,752,921,000 after purchasing an additional 646,675 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,359,276,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in McDonald’s by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,637,785 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,130,587,000 after buying an additional 533,448 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its position in McDonald’s by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,089,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $649,545,000 after buying an additional 134,480 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in McDonald’s by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,909,321 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $593,366,000 after buying an additional 62,562 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Key McDonald’s News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter adjusted EPS of $3.57 topped estimates of $3.38, with international growth and stronger franchised margins helping offset softer U.S. results. Article: McDonald’s Q3 Earnings Beat, but U.S. Traffic Still Pressures Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Management is testing value bundles at nearly 1,900 U.S. restaurants ahead of a planned national platform in early 2027, aiming to attract cost-conscious customers. The initiative could help revive traffic if the pilot succeeds. Article: McDonald’s plans new value bundles next year after US traffic falls in third quarter
• Neutral Sentiment: Several firms raised price targets, including Wells Fargo to $300 and Citigroup to $315, while JPMorgan’s new $270 target is below the referenced $278.06 share price. Oppenheimer also cautioned that technical indicators look stretched after a strong recent rally. Article: Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for McDonald’s Stock Price
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue of $7.16 billion missed expectations of about $7.28 billion, and U.S. comparable sales declined 0.2% as customers remained under pressure from the cost of living. U.S. traffic weakness is the main risk to sustaining growth. Article: McDonald’s Beats Earnings, but US Sales Tell Another Story
• Negative Sentiment: McDonald’s U.S. marketing chief is stepping down amid declining sales, adding a leadership transition as the company works to improve domestic performance. Article: McDonald’s US CMO steps down as sales decline

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.