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McDonald's (MCD) Rises As Market Takes a Dip: Key Facts

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McDonald's (MCD - Free Report) closed at $294.65 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.8% move from the prior day. The stock exceeded the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 0.06% for the day. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.35%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 0.76%.

The world's biggest hamburger chain's stock has dropped by 1.42% in the past month, falling short of the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 1.86% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.36%.

Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of McDonald's in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to be unveiled on February 5, 2024. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.81, up 8.49% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $6.47 billion, up 9.24% from the year-ago period.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for McDonald's should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 0.13% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Currently, McDonald's is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that McDonald's has a Forward P/E ratio of 23.43 right now. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 21.23, so one might conclude that McDonald's is trading at a premium comparatively.

Also, we should mention that MCD has a PEG ratio of 2.59. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Retail - Restaurants industry held an average PEG ratio of 1.84.

The Retail - Restaurants industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 159, putting it in the bottom 37% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow MCD in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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