Wedbush Weighs in on McDonald’s Co.’s Q2 2024 Earnings (NYSE:MCD)

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) – Equities researchers at Wedbush dropped their Q2 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for McDonald’s in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, April 26th. Wedbush analyst N. Setyan now forecasts that the fast-food giant will post earnings per share of $3.15 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast 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.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price 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. UBS Group reduced their price objective on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $297.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com cut McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $317.67.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $273.07 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $196.89 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $280.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $282.33. McDonald’s has a 12 month low of $245.73 and a 12 month high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 171.96% and a net margin of 33.22%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.63 EPS.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald’s

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,684,899,000. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 141,160.9% in the 4th quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 5,613,710 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,664,521,000 after purchasing an additional 5,609,736 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 10,702.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,174,426 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $644,739,000 after purchasing an additional 2,154,297 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,347,048 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,178,474,000 after purchasing an additional 987,099 shares during the period. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $192,165,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.