McDonald’s Upgraded, Burger King Downgraded at Credit Suisse (MCD, BKC)

Analysts at Credit Suisse on Tuesday boosted its view on fast food giant McDonald's Corporation (MCD), while cutting its ratings on Burger King (BKC).

The analyst upgraded MCD to "Outperform" from "Neutral," and raised its price target on the stock to $71 from $69 U.S. McDonald's shares had closed at $62.28 U.S. on Monday.

Meanwhile, Suisse lowered its rating on BKC to "Neutral" from "Outperform," and cut its price target on the stock to $21 from $23 U.S. Burger King shares had closed at $18.49 U.S. on Monday.

The analyst noted that McDonald's current earnings estimates and valuation don't fairly reflect the company's ability to grow its share value over the long term. In contrast, Suisse said that Burger King will not realize the benefits of recent store remodels and operations improvements until 2012.

McDonald's shares rose 57 cents U.S., or +0.9%, in premarket trading Tuesday, while Burger King shares fell 32 cents U.S., or -1.7%.

The Bottom Line
Shares of MCD have a dividend yield of 3.53%, based on Friday's closing stock price of $62.28 U.S. Shares of BKC have a dividend yield of 1.35%, based on Friday's closing stock price of $18.49 U.S.

McDonald's Corporation (MCD) is a "recommended" dividend stock, holding a Dividend.com DARS Rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars. Burger King (BKC) is not recommended, with a Dividend.com DARS Rating of 2.9 stars.

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