Zacks Research Comments on McDonald’s Co.’s Q1 2024 Earnings (NYSE:MCD)

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research reduced their Q1 2024 EPS estimates for shares of McDonald’s in a research report issued on Tuesday, April 16th. Zacks Research analyst H. Ray now anticipates that the fast-food giant will earn $2.71 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.72. The consensus estimate for McDonald’s’ current full-year earnings is $12.34 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for McDonald’s’ Q4 2024 earnings at $3.04 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $3.30 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $14.91 EPS.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $343.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Bank of America increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $291.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.72.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $270.98 on Wednesday. McDonald’s has a fifty-two week low of $245.73 and a fifty-two week high of $302.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $283.44 and a 200 day moving average of $280.62. The firm has a market cap of $195.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.45 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 171.96% and a net margin of 33.22%. McDonald’s’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.59 earnings per share.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 103.4% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 413 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $17,266,000 after purchasing an additional 5,007 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in McDonald’s by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 516,408 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $127,697,000 after purchasing an additional 23,643 shares during the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,108,000. Finally, Equitable Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 59.7% in the 1st quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 9,338 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,309,000 after buying an additional 3,490 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.