FY2024 EPS Estimates for McDonald’s Cut by Zacks Research

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research dropped their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for McDonald’s in a report released on Tuesday, November 12th. Zacks Research analyst H. Ray now expects that the fast-food giant will post earnings of $11.72 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $11.74. The consensus estimate for McDonald’s’ current full-year earnings is $11.77 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for McDonald’s’ Q4 2024 earnings at $2.82 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.73 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $3.37 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $3.14 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $12.37 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $3.00 EPS and Q2 2026 earnings at $3.46 EPS.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.19 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group raised their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $350.00 to $342.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.46.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $298.56 on Thursday. McDonald’s has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $317.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $299.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $277.14. The company has a market capitalization of $213.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.74.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter worth $6,612,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,394,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 58.9% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 138,102 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $35,194,000 after buying an additional 51,210 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,186 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $14,978,000 after acquiring an additional 2,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. grew its position in McDonald’s by 17.1% in the third quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 49,318 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $15,018,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at $14,966,996.55. This trade represents a 19.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Ian Frederick Borden sold 5,939 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total value of $1,781,937.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,121,716.12. This represents a 22.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,596 shares of company stock valued at $10,698,289 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.65%.

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.