Stifel Nicolaus Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Stock

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) had its target price raised by equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus from $300.00 to $315.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the fast-food giant’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target points to a potential upside of 0.38% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen increased their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised McDonald’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Northcoast Research cut McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 price objective (up previously from $325.00) on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $326.38.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $313.8010 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $299.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $305.84. McDonald’s has a fifty-two week low of $276.53 and a fifty-two week high of $326.32. The company has a market cap of $223.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.89, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.52.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.04. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 225.52% and a net margin of 32.21%.The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.97 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $770,970.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,713,740. This trade represents a 22.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 976 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.50, for a total value of $296,216.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 7,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,392,187. This represents a 11.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,341 shares of company stock worth $2,229,327 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nova Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 142.9% during the 2nd quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 85 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald’s Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K.