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Don't Be Fooled, There Is Still More Upside in McDonald's (MCD) - Analyst

January 4, 2012 11:44 AM EST
Get Alerts MCD Hot Sheet
Price: $278.58 -0.2%

Rating Summary:
    29 Buy, 17 Hold, 1 Sell

Rating Trend: Down Down

Today's Overall Ratings:
    Up: 20 | Down: 14 | New: 22
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McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) was last year's top performing Dow stock, rising 31%, but according to one analyst the upside in the stock is not over.

Goldman Sachs raised its price target on McDonald's Wednesday from $103 to $110 and reiterated its Conviction Buy List rating.

Goldman calls McDonald's the best-in-class Quick Service Restaurant that is "firmly in a positive feedback loop, continuously taking share from competitors such as Burger King, Wendy's, Taco Bell, and KFC." The firm also highlights a ramp in the company's emerging market growth rate.

Goldman sees the potential for the company to compound growth at around 15%/year for the next several years.

The key questions for 2012 are: (1) Can outsized SSS continue? and (2) Is valuation full given the stock’s recent run?

On the SSS question, Goldman believes that they can continue to grow and they are forecasting 5.3% SSS growth in 2012, which is rougly in-line with last year's 5.3% and above the consensus of 3.9%.

On valuation, Goldman doesn't believe it is full. They said while the company has seen some multiple expansion in 2012, it now trades at 15X 2013E earnings, in line to
modestly above the 14-15X multinational peer average. However, McDonald's has a higher growth rate and is more profitable.

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on McDonald\'s click here. For more ratings news on McDonald\'s click here.

Shares of McDonald\'s closed at $98.84 yesterday.


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