<div id="readability-page-1"><ul><li>McDonald's Is the Cheapest It’s Been in Years—Does That Make It a Buy?</li></ul>McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) - Research analysts at Erste Group Bank dropped their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for McDonald's in a research report issued on Friday, May 15th. Erste Group Bank analyst S. Lingnau now expects that the fast-food giant will post earnings per share of $13.00 for the year, down from their prior forecast of $13.20. Erste Group Bank has a &#34;Hold&#34; rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for McDonald's' current full-year earnings is $12.94 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for McDonald's' FY2027 earnings at $14.20 EPS.A number of other analysts have also weighed in on MCD. UBS Group increased their target price on McDonald's from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a &#34;buy&#34; rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Mizuho increased their target price on McDonald's from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a &#34;neutral&#34; rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on McDonald's from $323.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a &#34;neutral&#34; rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Guggenheim cut their price target on McDonald's from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a &#34;neutral&#34; rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo &amp; Company cut their price target on McDonald's from $355.00 to $320.00 and set an &#34;overweight&#34; rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of &#34;Moderate Buy&#34; and a consensus price target of $334.45.<ul><li>Catching Falling Knives: Is It Time to Buy These Beaten-Down Stocks?</li></ul>Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on MCD<h2>McDonald's Stock Up 0.0%</h2>MCD stock opened at $276.42 on Monday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $304.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $310.02. McDonald's has a twelve month low of $271.98 and a twelve month high of $341.75. The firm has a market cap of $196.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.79, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.43. <ul><li>Frozen Out: Lamb Weston Beats Earnings, but the Stock Still Slides</li></ul>McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.09. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 442.10% and a net margin of 31.62%.The business had revenue of $6.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.67 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. <h2>Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald's</h2>A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in McDonald's by 11.7% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 498,537 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $154,940,000 after purchasing an additional 52,309 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. boosted its position in McDonald's by 2,261.7% during the first quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 294,100 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $91,403,000 after purchasing an additional 281,647 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in McDonald's by 33.5% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 523,540 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $162,711,000 after purchasing an additional 131,253 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in McDonald's by 3.3% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 752,498 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $233,869,000 after purchasing an additional 24,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Family Manage LLC bought a new stake in McDonald's during the first quarter valued at about $2,660,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock. <h2>Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald's</h2>In other news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 6,201 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.29, for a total transaction of $2,066,731.29. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $763,567.39. This trade represents a 73.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 2,626 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.00, for a total value of $806,182.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,578,800. This represents a 23.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,119 shares of company stock worth $3,945,973. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock. <h2>Key Headlines Impacting McDonald's</h2>Here are the key news stories impacting McDonald's this week:<ul> <li>Positive Sentiment: Several analysts and market commentators argue that McDonald’s looks oversold and inexpensive relative to its historical valuation, with strong fundamentals and long-term growth prospects potentially supporting a rebound. McDonald's Is the Cheapest It’s Been in Years—Does That Make It a Buy?</li> <li>Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s landed a major naming-rights deal for the Chicago Fire stadium, which adds brand visibility and reinforces the company’s deep marketing reach. McDonald's Lands Naming Rights Deal for $750 Million Chicago Fire Stadium</li> <li>Neutral Sentiment: McDonald’s remains a widely watched dividend stalwart, with its long record of shareholder payouts keeping it on income investors’ radar. Don’t Look Now, But 4 Blue-Chip Giants Could Be the Newest Dividend Kings</li> <li>Neutral Sentiment: News coverage also highlights that McDonald’s is a trending stock and a subject of debate among investors, but this mostly reflects attention rather than a clear new catalyst. McDonald's Corporation (MCD) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It</li> <li>Negative Sentiment: Attention is centered on weaker U.S. company-run restaurant margins, with investors worried about pricing pressure, cost inflation, and the ownership mix affecting profitability. McDonald's Company-Run Margins Draw Focus: Can Ownership Mix Help?</li> <li>Negative Sentiment: Commentary from Jim Cramer and others points to the stock’s recent weakness, with concerns that McDonald’s has been “breaking down” despite being a defensive name. Jim Cramer on McDonald’s: “QSR I Think Is the Better”</li> <li>Negative Sentiment: Broader consumer cost pressures, including rising restaurant prices and higher gas prices, may weigh on traffic and spending at quick-service restaurants like McDonald’s. Grocery and Restaurant Prices Post Biggest Jump Since 2022</li> </ul><h2>McDonald's Company Profile</h2> (Get Free Report)McDonald's Corporation NYSE: MCD is a global quick-service restaurant company best known for its hamburgers, French fries and breakfast offerings. The company develops, operates and franchises a system of restaurants that sell a range of food and beverage items, including signature products such as the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets, McCafé coffee beverages and a variety of salads, desserts and seasonal menu items. McDonald's serves customers through company-operated restaurants and franchised locations, and it supports sales via dine-in, drive-thru, digital ordering platforms and third-party delivery partnerships. Founded in 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald as a single San Bernardino, California restaurant, the business was transformed into a franchising model after Ray Kroc joined in the mid-1950s and led the brand's national and international expansion.<h2>Featured Stories</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than McDonald's</li><li>Robinhood, SoFi, and Webull Are Telling Very Different Stories</li><li>As Broadcom Eclipses $2 Trillion, Private Credit Giants Wants In</li><li>Target the Red-Hot Spin-Off and Merger Space With These ETFs</li><li>Samsung Joins the $1 Trillion Club as AI Memory Demand Explodes</li></ul> <img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/EarningsEstimatesChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPU1DRA?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="325" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/EarningsEstimatesChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPU1DRA"/>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.<h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in McDonald's Right Now?</h2>Before you consider McDonald's, you'll want to hear this.MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and McDonald's wasn't on the list.While McDonald's currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.View The Five Stocks Here </div>

Erste Group Bank has lowered its FY2026 earnings per share estimate for McDonald's from $13.20 to $13.00, maintaining a 'Hold' rating. The consensus estimate for the current year is $12.94. Other analysts have adjusted their target prices, with UBS raising it to $365.00 and Wells Fargo lowering it to $320.00. McDonald's stock opened at $276.42, with a market cap of $196.40 billion.

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Erste Group Bank Decreases Earnings Estimates for McDonald's