McDonald’s Co. Expected to Earn Q1 2024 Earnings of $2.71 Per Share (NYSE:MCD)

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research dropped their Q1 2024 EPS estimates for McDonald’s in a research note issued on Tuesday, April 16th. Zacks Research analyst H. Ray now forecasts that the fast-food giant will earn $2.71 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.72. The consensus estimate for McDonald’s’ current full-year earnings is $12.35 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for McDonald’s’ Q4 2024 earnings at $3.04 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $3.30 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $14.91 EPS.

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

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on MCD. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 12th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $343.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $291.00 to $341.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.72.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD traded up $4.52 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $269.95. 3,244,820 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,234,956. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $284.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $280.76. McDonald’s has a 1 year low of $245.73 and a 1 year high of $302.39. The stock has a market cap of $194.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at $5,140,168.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald’s

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Independent Wealth Network Inc. increased its stake in McDonald’s by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 863 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Concentric Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Concentric Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,551 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $756,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Paragon Capital Management Ltd increased its stake in McDonald’s by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd now owns 1,374 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $407,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Mechanics Financial Corp increased its stake in McDonald’s by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 5,331 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,581,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,268 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

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.