Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Raises TAL Estimate to Market Perform (TAL)

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods published a report on TAL International Group TAL, raising its estimate to Market Perform with a Price Target of $33.00 per share. After meeting with executives at TAL, including President and CEO Brian Sodney, KBW concluded that “the outlook for the container leasing industry remains very positive and that TAL should continue to deliver strong earnings growth.” According to KBW, “Strong consumer demand, a shift in manufacturing activity to countries with cheaper labor costs and the easing of trade barriers have historically driven growth in containerized shipping. We expect growth in containerized shipments to continue throughout 2010.” KBW notes that “global economic weakness and potential failures among the major shipping liners,” in addition to “weaker lease rates,” and a “decrease in used container prices,” may prevent TAL from reaching its PT in the coming year. TAL is currently up by 3.40 percent from yesterday's close, and is trading at $31.64 per share.