TAL Education Group (NYSE:TAL) Stock Rated "Moderate Buy" by Sell-Side Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately positive: TAL has a “Moderate Buy” consensus from four ratings, with an average 12-month price target of $15.05.
• Quarterly results fell short of expectations: TAL reported a loss of $0.06 per share versus analysts’ expected $0.18 profit, while revenue of $994.65 million missed the $1.09 billion consensus.
• The company announced a special dividend of $0.10 per share, payable December 18 to shareholders of record on December 1.

TAL Education Group (NYSE:TAL - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the four ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $15.05.

TAL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research raised TAL Education Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. New Street Research set a $13.60 price objective on TAL Education Group in a research note on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on TAL Education Group from $16.00 to $16.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered TAL Education Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of TAL Education Group in a report on Friday, July 31st. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock.

TAL Education Group Price Performance

NYSE TAL opened at $10.14 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $11.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.07. TAL Education Group has a 1 year low of $8.88 and a 1 year high of $13.23. The company has a market cap of $5.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.74, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.22.

TAL Education Group (NYSE:TAL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.24). TAL Education Group had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 22.13%. The firm had revenue of $994.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion. Research analysts expect that TAL Education Group will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current year.

TAL Education Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st.

Institutional Trading of TAL Education Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ethic Inc. lifted its position in TAL Education Group by 11.0% during the third quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 13,186 shares of the company's stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 1,308 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in TAL Education Group in the third quarter valued at $95,000. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its position in TAL Education Group by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 22,072 shares of the company's stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 3,098 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in TAL Education Group by 165.7% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 186,000 shares of the company's stock worth $2,182,000 after purchasing an additional 116,000 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in TAL Education Group by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 16,781,509 shares of the company's stock worth $202,553,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038,071 shares during the period. 37.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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.