McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Cut to Neutral at Northcoast Research

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) was downgraded by research analysts at Northcoast Research from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $292.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $345.00 target price (up previously from $340.00) on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday. Truist Financial decreased their price target on McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $325.48.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $315.73 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.77 billion, a PE ratio of 27.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57. McDonald’s has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $326.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $309.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $299.88.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. The company had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.17 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.70 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that McDonald’s will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.50, for a total value of $299,071.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,100 shares in the company, valued at $3,853,850. The trade was a 7.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. The trade was a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 28,136 shares of company stock valued at $8,676,247. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth about $2,725,190,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in McDonald’s by 39,039.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,497,919 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,092,645,000 after purchasing an additional 3,488,982 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $703,074,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $350,935,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,867,193 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,570,511,000 after acquiring an additional 895,896 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Company Profile

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.