Barclays Boosts StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Price Target to $61.00

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) had its price objective boosted by equities research analysts at Barclays from $55.00 to $61.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 31.41% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price objective on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Evercore set a $73.00 price objective on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $105.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $70.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, StepStone Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.25.

StepStone Group Trading Down 4.4%

Shares of NASDAQ STEP opened at $46.42 on Wednesday. StepStone Group has a 12 month low of $40.58 and a 12 month high of $77.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of -6.69 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.34.

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

StepStone Group declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, March 9th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total value of $725,200.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 16.47% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On StepStone Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in STEP. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in StepStone Group by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in StepStone Group by 58.6% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 544 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in StepStone Group by 105.0% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 414 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its stake in StepStone Group by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in StepStone Group by 35.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

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.