TAL Education Group (NYSE:TAL) to Issue Special Dividend of $0.10

Key Points

• TAL Education Group declared a special dividend of $0.10 per share. Shareholders of record on December 1 will receive payment on December 18, with the ex-dividend date also set for December 1.
• The dividend appears financially difficult to sustain: TAL’s payout ratio is 346.2%, while analysts expect next year’s earnings to support only an estimated 180% payout ratio.
• TAL recently missed quarterly expectations, reporting a loss of $0.06 per share versus the $0.18 consensus estimate and revenue of $994.65 million versus $1.09 billion expected. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $13.60.

TAL Education Group (NYSE:TAL - Get Free Report) declared a special dividend on Thursday, October 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share on Friday, December 18th. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st.

TAL Education Group has a dividend payout ratio of 346.2% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities research analysts expect TAL Education Group to earn $1.00 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $1.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 180.0%.

TAL Education Group Price Performance

Shares of TAL opened at $10.28 on Friday. TAL Education Group has a one year low of $8.88 and a one year high of $13.37. The business has a fifty day moving average of $11.75 and a 200 day moving average of $11.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.25, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.09.

TAL Education Group (NYSE:TAL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.24). TAL Education Group had a return on equity of 24.55% and a net margin of 28.43%. The firm had revenue of $994.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion. Analysts expect that TAL Education Group will post 1.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. New Street Research set a $13.60 price target on TAL Education Group in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of TAL Education Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on TAL Education Group in a report on Friday, July 31st. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of TAL Education Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of TAL Education Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $13.60.

TAL Education Group Company Profile

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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