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

Shares of StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $80.5714.

A number of research firms have issued reports on STEP. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on StepStone Group from $105.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 9th. Barclays set a $67.00 price target on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price objective on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of StepStone Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of StepStone Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th.

StepStone Group Price Performance

STEP stock opened at $55.54 on Wednesday. StepStone Group has a 1 year low of $40.07 and a 1 year high of $77.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $67.09 and a 200 day moving average of $64.00. The company has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.00 and a beta of 1.32.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $241.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.92 million. StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 31.44% and a negative net margin of 30.66%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 102.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.44 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that StepStone Group will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. StepStone Group’s payout ratio is -16.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at StepStone Group

In other StepStone Group news, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total transaction of $725,200.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael I. Mccabe sold 117,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 306,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,258,921.20. This represents a 27.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 222,052 shares of company stock valued at $14,713,290 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 16.47% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On StepStone Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of StepStone Group by 58.6% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position in shares of StepStone Group by 105.0% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in StepStone Group by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 24,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,376,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in StepStone Group by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

StepStone Group Company Profile

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.