McDonald’s shares close higher on Tuesday, third-quarter restaurant sales beat estimates helped by promotions and other initiatives

On Tuesday McDonald’s Corporation (MCD) reported higher-than-anticipated third-quarter restaurant sales, as aggressive promotions such as $1 soda deals and new initiatives such as build-your-own burgers facilitated an increase in customer visits for a third consecutive quarter.

McDonald’s shares closed higher for the fourth time in the past six trading sessions on Tuesday. The stock edged up 0.33% ($0.54) to $163.88, after touching an intraday high at $166.49, or a price level not seen since October 20th ($167.90).

In the week ended on October 22nd the shares of the restaurant chain added 0.56% to their market value compared to a week ago, which marked a third consecutive period of gains.

The stock has extended its advance to 4.60% so far during the current month, following a 2.06% slump in September. The latter has been the first drop since October 2016.

For the entire past year, the shares of the NYSE-listed retailer gained 3.03%. The stock has risen another 34.64% so far in 2017.

McDonalds sales at restaurants worldwide, which are open at least 13 months, were reported to have increased 6% during the third quarter from a year ago. In comparison, analysts surveyed by research firm Consensus Metrix had expected a 4.5% sales growth.

Comparable sales went up 4.1% in the United States, again beating market expectations.

“Given that the fast food and casual dining segments as a whole struggled over the third quarter, this is an encouraging set of results which suggests McDonalds is gaining both market and customer share”, Neil Saunders, GlobalData Retails Managing Director, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

On the other hand, McDonalds total revenue shrank 10% to $5.75 billion during the latest quarter, because of restaurant sales to franchisees and strategic partners. The company also had higher tax burden and expenditures during the past quarter.

Meanwhile, McDonalds earnings per share, excluding special items, were reported at $1.76 during the period, while analysts on average had expected earnings of $1.77 per share.

According to CNN Money, the 27 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding McDonald’s Corporation’s stock price, have a median target of $173.00, with a high estimate of $185.00 and a low estimate of $150.00. The median estimate is a 5.57% surge compared to the closing price of $163.88 on October 24th.

The same media also reported that 19 out of 33 surveyed investment analysts had rated McDonald’s Corporation’s stock as “Buy”, while 11 – as “Hold”.

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, todays levels of importance for the McDonald’s stock are presented as follows:

R1 – $164.13
R2 – $164.38
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $164.62
R4 (Long Breakout) – $165.37
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $166.23
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $166.58

S1 – $163.63
S2 – $163.39
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $163.14
S4 (Short Breakout) – $162.40
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $161.53
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $161.18

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for McDonald’s Corporation (MCD) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $166.03
R1 – $168.17
R2 – $170.04
R3 – $172.18
R4 – $174.32

S1 – $164.16
S2 – $162.02
S3 – $160.15
S4 – $158.28