McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) has reported the earnings per share growth of 10 percent to $1.44  in the fourth quarter 2016, which was $0.03 better than the consensus estimate of analysts’ of $1.41. The revenues fell 4.9% from last year to $6.03 billion, beating the analysts’ view of $6 billion. Additionally, MCD has reported the 2.7 percent growth in the global comparable sales as compared to the analysts’ estimates of 1.5 percent.

On the other hand, the fourth quarter of 2016 comparable sales declined 1.3% in the U.S., due to the challenging comparison against the prior year launch of the very successful All-Day Breakfast. The company also reduced its U.S. store base for the second year in a row after decades of expansion, ending the year with 14,155 locations. As a result, the stock opened subdued this morning and fell over 0.9% (as of 10:19AM EST on January 23rd, 2017; Source: Google finance).

But, US sales trends is expected to improve for MCD’s this year as it rolls out more changes like the different Big Mac sizes and value deals that can help draw customers. Moreover, the fourth quarter comparable sales grew 11.1 percent in the Foundational markets due to the very strong performance in Japan and certain markets in Latin America, as well as solid results across the segment’s remaining geographic regions. The results primarily reflect a gain from the sale of McDonald’s Singapore in connection with the MCD’s refranchising initiatives, as well as improved performance in Japan.

McDonald is focused on the key elements of the turnaround plan, strengthening the business to drive long-term sustainable growth by focusing on the customers, right-sizing the structure and putting the right talent in place to lead the company into the future.

McDonald has returned $2.2 billion to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends in the fourth quarter 2016 and $14.2 billion for the full year. In addition, MCD has announced a 6 percent increase in its dividend beginning in the fourth quarter.

McDonald stock has risen 6.3% in the last three months (as of January 22nd, 2017; Source: Google Finance). According to tipranks.com, 12 analysts has covered the stock while recommend a “Moderate Buy”. MCD has an average price target of $130.61, which is a further upside of 6.83%.