StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $56.71, but opened at $60.40. StepStone Group shares last traded at $59.63, with a volume of 216,482 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $295.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $231.87 million. StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 11.29% and a positive return on equity of 12.04%. The company’s revenue was up 66.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 EPS.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently -56.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on STEP. Evercore ISI upped their price target on StepStone Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Oppenheimer set a $67.00 price target on StepStone Group and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays decreased their price target on StepStone Group from $69.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on StepStone Group from $66.00 to $51.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, StepStone Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.64.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jason P. Ment sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.02, for a total transaction of $48,016.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 90,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,441,593.26. This represents a 0.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.01, for a total value of $54,009.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 109,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,547,091. This trade represents a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 18.44% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On StepStone Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in StepStone Group during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in StepStone Group during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new position in StepStone Group during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new position in StepStone Group during the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in StepStone Group by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 730 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

StepStone Group Stock Up 3.5%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $51.99 and a 200-day moving average of $57.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.75 and a beta of 1.37.

About StepStone Group

StepStone Group Inc is a private equity and venture capital firm specializing in direct, fund of funds, secondary direct, and secondary indirect investments. For direct investment, it seeks to invest in private debt, venture debt, incubation, mezzanine, distressed/vulture, seed/startup, early venture, mid venture, late venture, emerging growth, later stage, turnaround, growth capital, industry consolidation, recapitalization, buyout investments in mature and middle market companies.