StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $79.8571.

Several research analysts have commented on STEP shares. Zacks Research raised shares of StepStone Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on StepStone Group from $73.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on StepStone Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on StepStone Group in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $74.00 price objective for the company.

Insider Transactions at StepStone Group

In other news, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total transaction of $661,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $661,700. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael I. Mccabe sold 117,838 shares of StepStone Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.20, for a total transaction of $7,800,875.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 306,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,258,921.20. This represents a 27.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 362,858 shares of company stock valued at $23,341,044 in the last quarter. Insiders own 16.47% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On StepStone Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of STEP. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its position in StepStone Group by 0.9% during the second quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 24,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,376,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 14.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 35.5% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 60.0% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

StepStone Group Stock Down 3.1%

STEP stock opened at $73.07 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.51. StepStone Group has a twelve month low of $40.07 and a twelve month high of $77.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.64 billion, a PE ratio of -9.13 and a beta of 1.34.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $282.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $272.15 million. StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 40.06% and a positive return on equity of 21.53%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that StepStone Group will post 1.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. StepStone Group’s payout ratio is currently -14.00%.

About StepStone Group

StepStone Group is a global private markets investment firm that provides specialized investment solutions across private equity, private credit and real assets. The firm offers customized portfolios, secondary interests, direct co-investments and tailored advisory services to institutional investors worldwide. StepStone’s integrated research and data analytics platform supports its investment teams in sourcing opportunities and monitoring portfolio companies.

Founded in 2007 as an independent private markets specialist, the company has grown its presence through both organic expansion and strategic partnerships.