StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Price Target Lowered to $90.00 at Oppenheimer

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) had its price target reduced by Oppenheimer from $104.00 to $90.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of StepStone Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Evercore set a $73.00 target price on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Friday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $70.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price objective on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.50.

StepStone Group Stock Up 7.7%

Shares of NASDAQ STEP opened at $49.45 on Monday. StepStone Group has a twelve month low of $40.58 and a twelve month high of $77.79. The company has a market capitalization of $5.89 billion, a PE ratio of -7.13 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.00.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.05. The firm 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 business’s revenue was up 102.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that StepStone Group will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 9th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. StepStone Group’s payout ratio is -16.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other StepStone Group news, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of StepStone Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total transaction of $725,200.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 16.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 65.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,723,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,774,000 after purchasing an additional 2,257,880 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in StepStone Group in the third quarter worth about $50,859,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,449,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $542,229,000 after acquiring an additional 728,410 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,102,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $327,439,000 after acquiring an additional 724,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 320.8% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 749,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,972,000 after acquiring an additional 571,643 shares in the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.