Back to top

Image: Bigstock

McDonald's (MCD) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know

Read MoreHide Full Article

McDonald's (MCD - Free Report) closed at $267.25 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.82% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.08%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.34%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 11.55%.

Heading into today, shares of the world's biggest hamburger chain had lost 0.94% over the past month, outpacing the Retail-Wholesale sector's loss of 3.03% and the S&P 500's loss of 1.03% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from McDonald's as it approaches its next earnings release. On that day, McDonald's is projected to report earnings of $2.44 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 9.42%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $5.71 billion, down 5.03% from the year-ago period.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for McDonald's. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.25% higher. McDonald's currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note McDonald's's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 25.79. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 20.86, so we one might conclude that McDonald's is trading at a premium comparatively.

Meanwhile, MCD's PEG ratio is currently 3.16. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Retail - Restaurants industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.93 as of yesterday's close.

The Retail - Restaurants industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 188, putting it in the bottom 26% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


McDonald's Corporation (MCD) - free report >>

Published in