McDonald's and Starbucks to Open Near 52-Week Highs

McDonald's

and Starbucks

reached new multiyear highs of $94.70 and $44.70 per share, respectively, in yesterday's trading session.

posted strong results in the most recent quarter, driven in part by demand for its value options and breakfast offerings. The company also recently brought back its popular McRib sandwich. McDonald's is headquartered in Oakbrook, Ill., and operates nearly 33,000 restaurants in about 117 countries. It was founded in 1940 and now has a market cap of $96.8 billion. McDonald's dividend yield is 2.9% and its earnings per share are anticipated to grow 10.5% over the next five years. Its P/E ratio is in line with the industry average, but its operating margin is much better than the industry average. Twenty-one out of 27 analysts polled consider it a Buy or Strong Buy. The share price is up more than 10% in the past three months and is about 26% higher year to date. Over the past six months, the stock has outperformed competitors Wendy's

and Yum! Brands

.

reported better-than-expected quarterly results last week, driven by strong same-store sales. It also offered rosy guidance for 2012 and 2013, as well as a dividend increase and share buybacks. The company operates more than 16,800 stores throughout the world and is still expanding. The Seattle-based company has a market cap is $33.0 billion and it was founded in 1971. The price-to-earnings ratio and the PEG ratio are lower than the industry average. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 17.3%, the return on equity is 30.9% and the dividend yield is 1.5%. The consensus recommendation of analysts is to buy the stock. The share price is up more than 12% in the past month, as well as more than 46% higher than a year ago. The stock has outperformed competitors Dunkin Brands

and McDonald's over the past six months.