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

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) – Research analysts at Wedbush lowered their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for shares of McDonald’s in a report released on Friday, April 26th. Wedbush analyst N. Setyan now anticipates that the fast-food giant will post earnings of $3.15 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $3.18. Wedbush has a “Outperform” rating and a $300.00 price objective 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.

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

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on MCD. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 5th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, February 5th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $345.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $317.67.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $273.07 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $280.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $282.33. McDonald’s has a twelve month low of $245.73 and a twelve month high of $302.39. The stock has a market capitalization 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.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,696,517.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 13.8% in the third quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,464 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 25.0% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 48,627 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $12,564,000 after purchasing an additional 9,737 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 4.1% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 17,539 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,620,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. Cavalier Investments LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 3.4% in the third quarter. Cavalier Investments LLC now owns 7,341 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,934,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 109.6% in the third quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 92,615 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $24,398,000 after purchasing an additional 48,428 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.