What is Wedbush’s Forecast for McDonald’s FY2024 Earnings?

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) – Equities researchers at Wedbush increased their FY2024 EPS estimates for shares of McDonald’s in a research report issued on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush analyst N. Setyan now expects that the fast-food giant will post earnings of $11.83 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $11.75. Wedbush currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $295.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for McDonald’s’ current full-year earnings is $11.77 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for McDonald’s’ Q2 2025 earnings at $3.15 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $3.41 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $12.53 EPS.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.99% and a net margin of 31.79%. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

MCD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Truist Financial lowered their target price on McDonald’s from $350.00 to $342.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Argus raised shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.46.

McDonald’s Stock Up 1.1 %

McDonald’s stock opened at $295.21 on Friday. McDonald’s has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $317.90. The company has a 50 day moving average of $298.36 and a 200-day moving average of $275.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.77 billion, a PE ratio of 25.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.65%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,632,712.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $446,721.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,256,818. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald’s

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MCD. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 31,151.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $706,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,311,721 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,471,007 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,542,550,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193,769 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 1st quarter valued at $348,206,000. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 39.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,565,398 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,005,264,000 after buying an additional 1,012,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth $110,321,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

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.