4-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: McDonald's

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Based on the aggregated intelligence of 140,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, fast-food giant McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at McDonald's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

McDonald's facts

Headquarters (Founded)	Oak Brook, Ill. (1948)
Market Cap	$69.05 billion
Industry	Restaurants
Trailing-12-Month Revenue	$22.34 billion
Management	CEO James Skinner (since 2004) CFO Peter Bensen (since 2008)
Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years)	25.9%
Cash/Debt	$2.2 billion / $11.08 billion
Dividend Yield	3.4%
Competitors	Burger King Holdings (NYSE: BKC) Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI)
CAPS Members Bullish on MCD Also Bullish on	Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL)
CAPS Members Bearish on MCD Also Bearish on	Ford (NYSE: F) Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT)

Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 95% of the 4,457 members who have rated McDonald's believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include Jtweez19 and All-Star mrindependent.

Late last month, Jtweez19 noted that people around the world seem to be lovin' it more and more:

The recent economic recession has proved when times get tough, people turn to McDonalds. This play is also a matter of consistency; no matter what McDonalds store you go to, you know what you're getting every time. The McCafe concept? [W]orking extremely well.

In a pitch from one week later, the stock also passed mrindependent's test for tastiness:

I noticed McDonalds because it appeared in my "steady dividends" screen. This screen requires that dividend yields greater than 2% and further qualifies the stocks with a host of factors designed to ensure that the companies are likely to maintain or increase their dividends during the next year. ... The balance sheet has some debt, but nothing that McDonald's cannot easily handle. Obviously, McDonalds is well-positioned for success around the world. The company's earnings results will benefit if the dollar continues to decline.

What do you think about McDonald's, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. The CAPS community is waiting to hear your opinions. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!