Zacks Research Decreases Earnings Estimates for McDonald’s

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research decreased their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of McDonald’s in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, November 12th. Zacks Research analyst H. Ray now expects that the fast-food giant will earn $11.72 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $11.74. The consensus estimate for McDonald’s’ current full-year earnings is $11.77 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for McDonald’s’ Q4 2024 earnings at $2.82 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.73 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $3.37 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $3.14 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $12.37 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $3.00 EPS and Q2 2026 earnings at $3.46 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on MCD. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. KeyCorp raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Barclays upped their target price on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.46.

McDonald’s Stock Down 2.0 %

NYSE:MCD opened at $292.52 on Thursday. McDonald’s has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.90. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $300.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $277.29. The stock has a market cap of $209.63 billion, a PE ratio of 25.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.19 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total value of $316,992.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. This trade represents a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. This represents a 19.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,596 shares of company stock worth $10,698,289 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter worth $31,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

About McDonald’s

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.