New Oriental Education & Technology Group, Inc. (NYSE:EDU) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate EDU a “Moderate Buy”: Four of seven covering brokerages recommend buying the stock, one gives a strong-buy rating, and two recommend holding it. The average 1-year price target is $61.93 versus a recent price of $55.82.
• Insiders sold shares recently: Company directors sold 72,170 shares worth approximately $4.1 million during the last quarter, while insiders retain a 15.5% ownership stake.
• Institutional investors increased exposure: Several hedge funds expanded their positions in New Oriental, including Invesco, Discerene Group, Orbis Allan Gray, and Federated Hermes, while the stock trades near the middle of its $44.25–$64.97 12-month range.

New Oriental Education & Technology Group, Inc. (NYSE:EDU - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $61.9250.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on EDU shares. New Street Research set a $56.50 price objective on shares of New Oriental Education & Technology Group in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of New Oriental Education & Technology Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen cut New Oriental Education & Technology Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded New Oriental Education & Technology Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $65.00 in a report on Thursday, June 11th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Yue Zhuge sold 1,600 shares of New Oriental Education & Technology Group stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.55, for a total transaction of $95,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,100. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Chenggang Zhou sold 56,948 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.83, for a total transaction of $3,236,354.84. Following the sale, the director directly owned 429,998 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,436,786.34. This represents a 11.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 72,170 shares of company stock worth $4,100,348. Insiders own 15.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On New Oriental Education & Technology Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of New Oriental Education & Technology Group by 5,697.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,610,905 shares of the company's stock valued at $253,738,000 after acquiring an additional 4,531,370 shares in the last quarter. Discerene Group LP raised its position in New Oriental Education & Technology Group by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. Discerene Group LP now owns 1,955,430 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,607,000 after purchasing an additional 374,916 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new stake in New Oriental Education & Technology Group during the 4th quarter valued at $86,526,000. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of New Oriental Education & Technology Group by 40.2% in the 4th quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 837,551 shares of the company's stock worth $46,090,000 after buying an additional 240,053 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of New Oriental Education & Technology Group by 13,865.2% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 742,249 shares of the company's stock worth $40,846,000 after buying an additional 736,934 shares during the period.

New Oriental Education & Technology Group Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of EDU opened at $55.82 on Monday. New Oriental Education & Technology Group has a twelve month low of $44.25 and a twelve month high of $64.97. The company has a market cap of $8.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.23. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $54.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.60.

About New Oriental Education & Technology Group

New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc is a China-based education services provider that offers learning programs through online platforms and physical schools and learning centers. The company serves students, families and adult learners with services covering language training, test preparation, educational consulting and other academic programs.

Its offerings have historically included preparation for overseas admissions and examinations such as TOEFL, IELTS, SAT, GRE and GMAT, as well as overseas study consulting, domestic examination preparation, primary and secondary education services, and educational materials and software.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.