McDonald’s’ (MCD) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at BTIG Research

BTIG Research reiterated their buy rating on shares of McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $350.00 price objective on the fast-food giant’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on MCD. Cfra raised shares of McDonald’s to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $380.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Piper Sandler set a $286.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $306.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $325.44.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.7%

MCD opened at $274.39 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $274.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $296.42. McDonald’s has a 12-month low of $260.96 and a 12-month high of $341.75. The firm has a market cap of $194.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.29, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.41.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.13 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 512.80% and a net margin of 31.72%.McDonald’s’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.19 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that McDonald’s will post 12.87 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 60.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,763 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.36, for a total value of $769,108.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,744,760.48. This represents a 30.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 5,252 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.32, for a total value of $1,493,248.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,198,930.88. The trade was a 40.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,348 shares of company stock worth $2,355,634. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,286 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,692,000 after acquiring an additional 1,649 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,942 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 11.4% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,017 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. United Bank increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 6.0% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 8,102 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,367,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 12,938 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,780,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting McDonald’s

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

• Positive Sentiment: Freedom Capital upgraded McDonald’s (MCD) from “hold” to “strong-buy,” while BTIG reiterated its “buy” rating. These calls suggest some analysts view the recent selloff as excessive and expect a recovery. McDonald’s analyst upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s remains attractive to income-focused investors because of its long record of dividend payments. Its latest quarterly earnings also exceeded consensus expectations, and global markets continue to provide support. McDonald’s dividend history
• Neutral Sentiment: Forecast coverage is mixed. Morgan Stanley lowered its price target to $319, while RBC and Robert W. Baird issued pessimistic outlooks; a separate forecast highlighted potential upside from McDonald’s loyalty scale and the faster-than-expected rollout of its beverage platform. Morgan Stanley lowers McDonald’s price target
• Negative Sentiment: The main issue is weak U.S. performance. Management acknowledged an execution problem involving the value menu, digital offers, restaurant workload, and marketing—not a flawed overall strategy. Customers continue to demand better value, raising concerns about traffic and near-term sales growth. McDonald’s Q2 earnings call
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pressure is increasing, with Burger King reporting stronger U.S. sales momentum as McDonald’s growth falters. Wendy’s weak traffic and withdrawn outlook add to broader investor concern about value-oriented fast-food demand. Burger King gains against McDonald’s
• Negative Sentiment: McDonald’s has pushed back its goal of reaching 50,000 restaurants, suggesting that economic conditions are slowing expansion. The end of its Krispy Kreme doughnut partnership also removes a recent menu-growth initiative. McDonald’s expansion plans

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is a global quick-service restaurant company best known for its hamburgers, French fries and breakfast offerings. The company develops, operates and franchises a system of restaurants that sell a range of food and beverage items, including signature products such as the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets, McCafé coffee beverages and a variety of salads, desserts and seasonal menu items. McDonald’s serves customers through company-operated restaurants and franchised locations, and it supports sales via dine-in, drive-thru, digital ordering platforms and third-party delivery partnerships.

Founded in 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald as a single San Bernardino, California restaurant, the business was transformed into a franchising model after Ray Kroc joined in the mid-1950s and led the brand’s national and international expansion.