TAL Education Group (NYSE:TAL) Stock Bumped Down to "Hold" by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded TAL Education Group from “Buy” to “Hold,” although other analysts remain generally positive, giving the stock an overall “Buy” rating and an average price target of $14.80.
• TAL opened at $10.18, with a 52-week range of $8.88 to $13.37 and a market capitalization of approximately $5.64 billion.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.75 in EPS versus a $0.29 consensus estimate and revenue of $758.38 million versus expectations of $719.40 million; institutional investors own 37.79% of its shares.

TAL Education Group (NYSE:TAL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on TAL. Weiss Ratings raised TAL Education Group from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. New Street Research set a $13.60 price objective on shares of TAL Education Group in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on TAL Education Group in a report on Friday, July 31st. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of TAL Education Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $14.80.

TAL Education Group Stock Performance

TAL stock opened at $10.18 on Friday. TAL Education Group has a 52 week low of $8.88 and a 52 week high of $13.37. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $11.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.06. The company has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a PE ratio of 6.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.09.

TAL Education Group (NYSE:TAL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.46. TAL Education Group had a return on equity of 24.55% and a net margin of 28.43%. The company had revenue of $758.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $719.40 million. On average, analysts forecast that TAL Education Group will post 1.26 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other TAL Education Group news, insider Alex Peng sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.28, for a total value of $368,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,144 shares of the company's stock, valued at $185,968.32. This represents a 66.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TAL. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in TAL Education Group by 13.8% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 16,781,509 shares of the company's stock worth $202,553,000 after buying an additional 2,038,071 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of TAL Education Group by 26.4% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 7,395,434 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,086,000 after purchasing an additional 1,546,549 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of TAL Education Group by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,187,724 shares of the company's stock worth $13,504,000 after acquiring an additional 137,799 shares during the last quarter. SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new position in TAL Education Group during the first quarter worth about $13,010,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in TAL Education Group by 81.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,096,554 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,494,000 after purchasing an additional 490,836 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 37.79% of the company's stock.

About TAL Education Group

TAL Education Group is a Chinese education services provider that offers learning programs, educational content and related services for students. Its offerings have included tutoring and enrichment programs in subjects such as mathematics, science, Chinese and English, along with online learning tools, educational technology and other products designed to support students, parents and teachers.

The company was founded in 2003 as Xueersi and later adopted the name TAL Education Group. It historically operated a network of learning centers and online platforms serving students in China, with a focus on primary and secondary education.

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