Wedbush Has Positive Estimate for McDonald’s Q4 Earnings

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) – Research analysts at Wedbush upped their Q4 2024 EPS estimates for shares of McDonald’s in a report released on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush analyst N. Setyan now expects that the fast-food giant will post earnings per share of $2.93 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $2.90. Wedbush currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $295.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for McDonald’s’ current full-year earnings is $11.78 per share.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Baird R W cut McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.46.

McDonald’s Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:MCD opened at $295.24 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $211.79 billion, a PE ratio of 25.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.73. McDonald’s has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $317.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $298.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $275.78.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 178.99%. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.19 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 58.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $446,721.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total value of $3,518,451.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $446,721.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,097 shares of company stock worth $10,256,818 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in McDonald’s by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 67,153 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $20,449,000 after purchasing an additional 1,749 shares during the last quarter. Essex Savings Bank raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 10.8% in the third quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 7,281 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,217,000 after buying an additional 712 shares during the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.5% during the third quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 23,869 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $7,268,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV boosted its position in McDonald’s by 12.4% during the third quarter. Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV now owns 1,446 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $440,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp grew its stake in McDonald’s by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 47,381 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $14,428,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Company Profile

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.