Contrasting Four Seasons Education (Cayman) (NYSE:FEDU) and Pearson (NYSE:PSO)

Pearson (NYSE:PSO) and Four Seasons Education (Cayman) (NYSE:FEDU) 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, earnings, dividends, profitability, risk, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Volatility and Risk

Pearson has a beta of 0.36, indicating that its share price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Four Seasons Education (Cayman) has a beta of 0.11, indicating that its share price is 89% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Pearson and Four Seasons Education (Cayman), as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pearson	0	5	2	0	2.29
Four Seasons Education (Cayman)	1	0	0	0	1.00

Profitability

This table compares Pearson and Four Seasons Education (Cayman)’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pearson	N/A	N/A	N/A
Four Seasons Education (Cayman)	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Pearson and Four Seasons Education (Cayman)”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pearson	$4.72 billion	2.06	$441.77 million	N/A	N/A
Four Seasons Education (Cayman)	$254.44 million	0.08	$4.49 million	N/A	N/A

Pearson has higher revenue and earnings than Four Seasons Education (Cayman).

Insider and Institutional Ownership

2.1% of Pearson shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 4.3% of Four Seasons Education (Cayman) shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Pearson shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 45.8% of Four Seasons Education (Cayman) shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Pearson pays an annual dividend of $0.47 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Four Seasons Education (Cayman) pays an annual dividend of $2.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 25.2%.

Summary

Pearson beats Four Seasons Education (Cayman) on 6 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Pearson

Pearson plc offers educational courseware, assessments, and services in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, the Asia Pacific, other European countries, and internationally. The company operates through five segments: Assessment & Qualifications, Virtual Learning, English Language Learning, Workforce Skills, and Higher Education. The Assessment & Qualifications segment offers Pearson VUE, US student assessment, clinical assessment, UK GCSE, and A levels and international academic qualifications and associated courseware. The Virtual Learning segment provides virtual schools and online program management services. The English Language Learning segment offers Pearson test of English, institutional courseware, and English online solutions. The Workforce Skills offers BTEC, GED, TalentLens, Faethm, Credly, Pearson college, and apprenticeships. The Higher Education segment engages in the US, Canadian, and international higher education courseware businesses. The company was founded in 1844 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

About Four Seasons Education (Cayman)

Four Seasons Education (Cayman) Inc. provides after-school education services for kindergarten, elementary, and middle school students in the People’s Republic of China and internationally. It also offers consulting services; and tourism services, including travel agency services. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People’s Republic of China.