McDonald's (MCD) closed at $278.58 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.2% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.63%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.2%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 0.82%.

The world's biggest hamburger chain's shares have seen a decrease of 4.41% over the last month, not keeping up with the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 2.64% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.76%.

The upcoming earnings release of McDonald's will be of great interest to investors. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $2.72, showcasing a 3.42% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $6.18 billion, up 4.86% from the prior-year quarter.

Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $12.38 per share and revenue of $26.96 billion. These totals would mark changes of +3.69% and +5.75%, respectively, from last year.

It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for McDonald's. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 0.06% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. McDonald's currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, McDonald's is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 22.55. This denotes a premium relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 20.9.

Investors should also note that MCD has a PEG ratio of 3.01 right now. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. As the market closed yesterday, the Retail - Restaurants industry was having an average PEG ratio of 2.01.

The Retail - Restaurants industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 158, positioning it in the bottom 38% of all 250+ industries.