McDonald’s expands in Russia

Article Excerpt

MCDONALD’S CORP. $215 is a buy. The company (New York symbol MCD; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector, Shares outstanding: 743.5 million; Market cap: $159.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 8.4; Dividend yield: 2.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.mcdonalds.com) now operates over 38,000 restaurants in 120 countries. McDonald’s plans to close about 200 stores in the U.S. (about half of those are inside Walmart stores). It will also reduce its stake in its publicly traded Japanese business, from 49% to 35%. Based on the current trading price, that sale would raise about $900 million. However, the company is expanding in Russia. It aims to have 800 outlets in that country by the end of 2020, up from the existing 750. McDonald’s is a buy. buy…