Q2 2024 EPS Estimates for McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Reduced by Analyst

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) – Stock analysts at Wedbush dropped their Q2 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of McDonald’s in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, April 26th. Wedbush analyst N. Setyan now anticipates that the fast-food giant will earn $3.15 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $3.18. Wedbush currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for McDonald’s’ current full-year earnings is $12.34 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for McDonald’s’ Q3 2024 earnings at $3.35 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.97 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $3.46 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $3.53 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $3.28 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $13.25 EPS.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on MCD. Citigroup reduced their target price on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $297.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $318.41.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $273.09 on Monday. McDonald’s has a 12 month low of $245.73 and a 12 month high of $302.39. The company has a market capitalization of $196.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $281.68 and its 200 day moving average is $281.96.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.12. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 171.96% and a net margin of 33.22%. The firm had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.59 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at $5,140,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MCD. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 69,049,310 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $20,473,811,000 after buying an additional 599,745 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,200,473 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,423,773,000 after acquiring an additional 151,161 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,684,899,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in McDonald’s by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,347,048 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,178,474,000 after purchasing an additional 987,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC increased its position in McDonald’s by 141,160.9% during the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 5,613,710 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,664,521,000 after purchasing an additional 5,609,736 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.