New outlets should spur their dividends

Article Excerpt

Our two leading fast-food companies continue to add new outlets and to improve their menus and services. Expect both of those factors to keep lifting their dividends. MCDONALD’S CORP. $290 is a buy. The company (New York symbol MCD; Income-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 716.6 million; Market cap: $207.8 billion; Dividend yield: 2.4%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.mcdonalds.com) is the world’s largest fast-food chain, with 42,819 restaurants in over 100 countries. It serves various foods but is best known for hamburgers and french fries. Franchisees now operate 95% of the company’s outlets. McDonald’s last raised your quarterly dividend with the December 2024 payment. Investors now receive $1.77 a share, up 6.0% from $1.67. The new annual rate of $7.08 yields 2.4%. The company has now raised its annual dividend rate each year since 1976. The company’s sales in the third quarter ended September 30, 2024, rose 2.7%, to $6.87 billion from $6.69 billion a year earlier. Excluding currency, sales increased by 2%. Overall same-store sales…