Contrasting TAL Education Group (NYSE:TAL) and Meta Data (NYSE:AIU)

TAL Education Group (NYSE:TAL) and Meta Data (NYSE:AIU) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends and valuation.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares TAL Education Group and Meta Data’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
TAL Education Group	$1.02 billion	7.15	-$135.61 million	($0.11)	-103.95
Meta Data	$32.43 million	1.35	$694.49 million	N/A	N/A

Meta Data has lower revenue, but higher earnings than TAL Education Group.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

37.8% of TAL Education Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.4% of Meta Data shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.8% of TAL Education Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 12.7% of Meta Data shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for TAL Education Group and Meta Data, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
TAL Education Group	0	0	4	0	3.00
Meta Data	0	0	0	0	N/A

TAL Education Group currently has a consensus target price of $12.37, indicating a potential upside of 8.15%. Given TAL Education Group’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe TAL Education Group is more favorable than Meta Data.

Volatility and Risk

TAL Education Group has a beta of 0.15, indicating that its stock price is 85% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Meta Data has a beta of 0.34, indicating that its stock price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares TAL Education Group and Meta Data’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
TAL Education Group	-5.30%	-1.93%	-1.49%
Meta Data	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Meta Data beats TAL Education Group on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About TAL Education Group

TAL Education Group provides K-12 after-school tutoring services in the People's Republic of China. The company offers tutoring services to K-12 students covering various academic subjects, including mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, history, geography, political science, English, and Chinese. It provides tutoring services primarily through small-class services under the Xueersi, Xueersi Online School, First Leap, Tipaipai, Xiaohou AI, Xiaohoucode, Aiqidao, Mamabang, Kaoyanbang, and Shunshunliuxue brand names; and personalized premium services under Izhikang name. The company also operates jzb.com, an online education platform; provides investment management and consulting services; develops and sells software and networks, as well as related consulting services; and sells educational materials and products. TAL Education Group was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People's Republic of China.

About Meta Data

Meta Data Limited, together with its subsidiaries, operates K-12 after-school education platform that focuses on young children mathematics training services and FasTrack English services in the People's Republic of China and internationally. The company's products include Artificial Intelligent Education (AIE), a smart training system incorporating virtual reality, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and other technologies to facilitate the teaching and training process; Artificial Intelligent Universe (AIU), provides software and hardware infrastructure (IAAS) to Metaverse business operators or individual users targeted to improve the accessibility of rendering modes through cloud computing and edge computing algorithms and computing power to improve the virtual world; and smart ID card services. It also provides technical services, including simulation teaching modules, 3D teaching modules, virtual reality modules, etc. for smart education business operation service providers, as well as digital services; project completion inspection services; and customer acceptance services. The company was formerly known as OneSmart International Education Group Limited and changed its name to Meta Data Limited in April 2022. Meta Data Limited was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Sha Tin, Hong Kong.