McDonald's, Yum! Hit Record Highs

(52-week high article updated with additional information and stock prices.)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- A duo of big-name restaurant stocks -- McDonald's(MCD) and Yum! Brands(YUM) -- hit fresh 52-week highs Tuesday even as the major indexes fell nearly 1%.

Shares of McDonald's touched an all-time high of $75.84 in early-afternoon trading Tuesday, before edging back somewhat to $75.79. The burger-and-fries chain's recent record high of $75.35 was reached Friday, the most recent full trading day.

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Yum! Brands, the operator of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut restaurant chains, reached as high as $44.69 in morning trading Tuesday, a new record high, after it too touched fresh heights of $44.27 on Friday. Yum! shares were lower by 0.3% at $44.21 Tuesday afternoon.

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Other food-related stocks also rose to fresh 52-week highs Tuesday, including convenience store operator Casey's General Stores(CASY), natural beverage makers Hain Celestial(HAIN) and Hansen Natural(HANS), food processor Hormel Foods(HRL) and online restaurant reservation service OpenTable(OPEN).

Yum! and McDonald's are among analysts' top picks for restaurant stocks to buy now, especially now that Burger King shares are considered passé by savvy investors who know the stock is unlikely to go much higher after the Whopper-and-fries chain agreed to be taken private for $24 per share.

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Casey's shares jumped 6.8% to $41.55, off earlier highs of $42.15. Hain edged up 0.1% to $24.01 after touching $24.10 earlier Tuesday. Hormel shares fell 0.3% to $44.21 after reaching $44.41, and Opentable fell 1% to $55.30 after hitting a fresh all-time high of $56.13.