StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) Short Interest Up 22.6% in February

StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 3,741,686 shares, a growth of 22.6% from the February 12th total of 3,051,721 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,095,853 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days. Currently, 3.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Currently, 3.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,095,853 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Insider Activity at StepStone Group

In related 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 SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 16.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $511,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of StepStone Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $136,000. XTX Topco Ltd grew its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 14,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $919,000 after purchasing an additional 7,645 shares during the last quarter. VARCOV Co. acquired a new position in StepStone Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $238,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its position in StepStone Group by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 370,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,758,000 after purchasing an additional 74,745 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

StepStone Group Stock Up 4.1%

STEP stock opened at $45.09 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $60.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.32. The firm has a market cap of $5.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.50 and a beta of 1.39. StepStone Group has a 12 month low of $40.07 and a 12 month high of $77.79.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $241.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.92 million. StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 30.66% and a positive return on equity of 31.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 102.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. Equities analysts predict that StepStone Group will post 1.82 EPS for the current year.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently -16.14%.

StepStone Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 9th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on STEP shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of StepStone Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Barclays upgraded shares of StepStone Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $67.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on StepStone Group from $105.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Zacks Research lowered StepStone Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Evercore set a $73.00 price objective on StepStone Group in a report on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.86.

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.