Goldman adds McDonald’s to conviction list, sees a buying opportunity

Goldman Sachs added McDonald’s to its Americas Conviction List as it sees the stock recovering from its recent pullback.

Analyst Matthew Fassler said the company’s stock decline “represents an opportunity to buy,” with same-store sales growth — a key metric for restaurant companies —”re-accelerating.”

McDonald’s shares are down about 3 percent year to date, underperforming the S&P 500, which is flat.

Fassler said same-store sales growth will pick up, in part, as McDonald’s moves “past January disruptions related to a transition to a national value” menu and a “normalizing competitive backdrop.”

The analyst also expects the fast food giant to benefit from improving margins in U.S. stores.

Fassler has a buy rating on the stock and a $185 price target, which implies a 12.1 percent upside from Friday’s close.