This post is part of a special annual report — Top Stock Picks ’09 — in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked 75 leading newsletter advisors to select their favorite investment for the new year.
Click through AOL’s gallery as they highlight 20 of the resulting 75 top stock picks for 2009 as reported by TheStockAdvisors.com.
“New Oriental Education (NYSE: EDU), the largest English instruction and college prep course school in China, is my top pick for 2009 says China stock expert Tony Sagami.
In his specialized newsletter, the Asia Stock Alert, he explains, “Every time I travel to Asia, I’m on the lookout for new ideas; on my latest trip I found that one of the oldest stocks in our portfolio — New Oriental — is still one of the very best.
“I’ve previously attended New Oriental classes in Shanghai and Shenzhen before, and during the Olympics, I visited their home office in Beijing. The registration desk had a steady stream of students signing up for new classes throughout the day.
“Its bookstore was just as busy as the registration desk. The most popular books were Chinese versions of SAT, GRE, GMAT, and TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) preparation guides, as well as college-specific books.
“Meanwhile, the company hired veteran U.S. investment banker Joseph Kaufman to head its Business Development (acquisition) department. New Oriental has rapid organic growth, but it’s now going to supplement that with accretive acquisitions.
“I’ve been in the investment business for almost 30 years, and even after traipsing around Asia for years, New Oriental is still the most exciting business I have ever run in to. If you could only buy one stock in your lifetime, this is the one to own. And I’m even more convinced of that today than ever.
“The company recently delivered another great quarter. The number of students taking classes grew to 545,000, a 24% surge from the same period a year ago. Higher enrollment and higher tuition fees increased revenues by 47%, to $118.3 million.
“Management owns 47% of the shares, it has $7 a share in cash, zero debt, has average 69% earnings growth over the last five years, a 19% return on equity, and 25% profit margins. The future looks even brighter.
“Chinese families will continue to spend whatever it takes to help their only child to get into the most prestigious colleges in China and the U.S.
“It doesn’t matter if the Chinese economy grows by a little or a lot (or even if it were to actually contract, which isn’t in the cards), the demand for New Oriental’s services is not going to fall. New Oriental is arguably the most recession-resistant stock you will ever find.”
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