McDonald's' (MCD) "Buy (B)" Rating Reaffirmed at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• McDonald's stock (NYSE:MCD) has had its "buy (B)" rating reaffirmed by Weiss Ratings, indicating positive analyst sentiment.
• Recent price target adjustments include BMO Capital Markets raising their target from $350 to $360, while Citigroup increased theirs from $373 to $381.
• McDonald's reported a quarterly EPS of $3.19, exceeding analyst expectations, with a year-over-year revenue growth of 5.4% to $6.84 billion.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b)" rating reaffirmed by analysts at Weiss Ratings in a report released on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

MCD has been the topic of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of McDonald's from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of McDonald's from $324.00 to $326.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of McDonald's from $327.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of McDonald's from $373.00 to $381.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald's currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $324.73.

McDonald's Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of MCD opened at $294.44 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $210.11 billion, a PE ratio of 25.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $306.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $305.94. McDonald's has a 12 month low of $276.53 and a 12 month high of $326.32.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.04. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 225.52% and a net margin of 32.21%.The business had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.97 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that McDonald's will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at McDonald's

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.49, for a total value of $281,221.11. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,780,165.67. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $310,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 99 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,690. This represents a 90.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,402 shares of company stock worth $1,973,407 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald's

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. raised its stake in shares of McDonald's by 142.9% in the 2nd quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 85 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald's in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald's in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald's during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Finally, GFG Capital LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald's during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

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.

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