TAL Education Group (NYSE:TAL) Stock Price Down 8.6% – Here’s Why

TAL Education Group (NYSE:TAL)’s stock price dropped 8.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $10.71 and last traded at $10.5890. Approximately 976,933 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 4,070,905 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.58.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on TAL shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on TAL Education Group in a report on Friday, July 31st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. New Street Research set a $13.60 price target on TAL Education Group in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded TAL Education Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Zacks Research raised TAL Education Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised TAL Education Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $14.80.

TAL Education Group Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.84 billion, a PE ratio of 6.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $11.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.08.

TAL Education Group (NYSE:TAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $758.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $719.40 million. Equities research analysts forecast that TAL Education Group will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TAL Education Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TAL. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $202,553,000 after buying an additional 2,038,071 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of TAL Education Group by 53.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in shares of TAL Education Group in the second quarter valued at about $1,211,000. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in TAL Education Group in the second quarter worth about $1,669,000. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG lifted its stake in TAL Education Group by 253.3% in the second quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 79,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $754,000 after acquiring an additional 57,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 37.79% of the company’s stock.

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.