The latest trading session saw McDonald's (MCD) ending at $309.84, denoting a +1.57% adjustment from its last day's close. The stock exceeded the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 0.77% for the day. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.47%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 0.87%.

The the stock of world's biggest hamburger chain has risen by 2.87% in the past month, lagging the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 5.56% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.87%.

Market participants will be closely following the financial results of McDonald's in its upcoming release. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $3.15, reflecting a 1.25% decrease from the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $6.76 billion, up 1.05% from the prior-year quarter.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $11.71 per share and revenue of $26.04 billion, which would represent changes of -1.93% and +2.15%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for McDonald's. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.36% higher. At present, McDonald's boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

With respect to valuation, McDonald's is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 26.05. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 22.22 for its industry.

Meanwhile, MCD's PEG ratio is currently 4.06. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. Retail - Restaurants stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.12 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Retail - Restaurants industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 151, which puts it in the bottom 41% of all 250+ industries.