McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday. The company traded as low as $233.66 and last traded at $234.3460, with a volume of 1934751 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $236.50.

Key McDonald’s News

Here are the key news stories impacting McDonald’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts argue that McDonald’s scale, franchise-based economics, lower valuation, and the planned NEXT operating upgrades—including AI-powered systems—could improve efficiency and support a long-term recovery. McDonald’s vs. Starbucks: Which Restaurant Stock Has an Edge Now?
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s dividend status remains attractive to income-oriented investors. Recent coverage says McDonald’s raised its dividend despite share-price weakness, with earnings and cash flow viewed as sufficient to support the payout. Its long record of annual increases may help limit further downside. 3 Dividend Stocks With Higher Yields and Room for More Payout Growth
• Positive Sentiment: A redesigned, tiered loyalty program targeting approximately 150 million infrequent customers, with Uber and Disney+ partnerships, could increase visit frequency and improve customer retention. McDonald’s Targets 150 Million Infrequent Guests With Tiered Loyalty Program

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright set a $250.00 target price on McDonald’s in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, September 18th. BTIG Research dropped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $350.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $310.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.27.

McDonald’s Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $262.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $280.40. The firm has a market cap of $165.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.41.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The fast-food giant reported $3.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.06. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 572.06% and a net margin of 31.72%.The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.19 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a $1.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $7.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.44%.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth $1,359,276,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 30,979.0% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,596,340 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $806,917,000 after purchasing an additional 2,587,986 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 9,867.5% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,541,008 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $776,608,000 after purchasing an additional 2,515,515 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 49.9% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,104,337 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $948,779,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033,041 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,983,997 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $10,997,789,000 after purchasing an additional 959,140 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald’s Corporation is a global quick-service restaurant company that operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald’s brand. Its restaurants serve a menu that includes hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, French fries, breakfast items, desserts, salads, beverages and coffee. Offerings vary by market, and many locations provide drive-thru service, delivery and digital ordering through the McDonald’s mobile app.

The company operates through a heavily franchised business model, with restaurants owned and operated by independent franchisees, affiliates and the company itself.