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Here's Why McDonald's (MCD) Gained But Lagged the Market Today

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In the latest market close, McDonald's (MCD - Free Report) reached $307.45, with a +0.55% movement compared to the previous day. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.12%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 1.14%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 1.46%.

The world's biggest hamburger chain's stock has climbed by 5.52% in the past month, exceeding the Retail-Wholesale sector's loss of 6.55% and the S&P 500's loss of 4.13%.

Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of McDonald's in its upcoming earnings disclosure. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $2.68, marking a 0.74% fall compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $6.15 billion, indicating a 0.37% decrease compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

MCD's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $12.24 per share and revenue of $26.42 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +4.44% and +1.93%, respectively.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for McDonald's. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 1.29% lower within the past month. McDonald's currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, McDonald's is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 24.98. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 23.58 of its industry.

We can additionally observe that MCD currently boasts a PEG ratio of 3.13. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Retail - Restaurants industry held an average PEG ratio of 2.4.

The Retail - Restaurants industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 70, which puts it in the top 28% of all 250+ industries.

The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.


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