McDonald’s’ (MCD) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at BTIG Research

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by investment analysts at BTIG Research in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $350.00 price target on the fast-food giant’s stock. BTIG Research’s target price points to a potential upside of 38.42% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup upped their target price on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $282.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $317.91.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $252.85 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $178.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $266.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $285.37. McDonald’s has a one year low of $252.15 and a one year high of $341.75.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The fast-food giant reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.06. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.72% and a negative return on equity of 572.06%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that McDonald’s will post 12.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. State Street Corp boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,983,997 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $10,997,789,000 after acquiring an additional 959,140 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,038,519 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $5,195,965,000 after purchasing an additional 76,090 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth $2,890,438,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,560,037 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,699,314,000 after purchasing an additional 384,762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,283,655 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,614,843,000 after purchasing an additional 40,506 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key McDonald’s News

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

• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s is expanding its digital growth strategy. Its delivery platform generates more than $20 billion in systemwide sales and reaches roughly 90% of restaurants, while the company aims to route 30% of delivery orders through its own app by the end of 2027. How Investors May Respond To McDonald’s US$20 Billion Delivery Push And App Strategy
• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s plans to use its September 23 investor day to provide more detail on its long-term strategy and potentially announce financial targets through 2030. Clearer targets could help restore investor confidence if management demonstrates a credible path to stronger demand and digital growth. McDonald’s Likely to Issue New Financial Targets Through 2030 at Investor Day, RBC Says
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies maintained its positive view of McDonald’s recovery potential but lowered its price target to $325 from $350, indicating that the brokerage still sees upside while acknowledging greater uncertainty around the timing and strength of a sales rebound. McDonald’s Target Falls to $325, but Jefferies Keeps Faith in Recovery
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts expect investor day to address challenging demand conditions. The need to explain how McDonald’s will regain traffic and sustain growth is weighing on sentiment ahead of the event. McDonald’s Investor Day to Provide Details on Strategy Amid Challenging Demand
• Negative Sentiment: The company’s $8 Big Mac meal promotion is intended to attract price-sensitive customers, but steep diesel prices could increase distribution and supply-chain costs, pressuring restaurant-level margins and franchisee profitability. McDonald’s Pitches $8 Big Macs as Diesel Hits Record Levels

McDonald’s Company Profile

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.