StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) Receives $70.12 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $70.1250.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of StepStone Group from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group began coverage on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $62.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th.

StepStone Group Stock Performance

StepStone Group stock opened at $42.25 on Friday. StepStone Group has a 52 week low of $38.85 and a 52 week high of $77.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.21 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $46.23 and a 200-day moving average of $52.76.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 20th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.06. StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 37.69% and a negative net margin of 26.88%.The business had revenue of $305.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.11 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. StepStone Group’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that StepStone Group will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently -16.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other StepStone Group news, COO Jose A. Fernandez sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total value of $4,860,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 102,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,971,294. This represents a 49.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Michael I. Mccabe bought 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $41.85 per share, with a total value of $5,022,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 433,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,128,499.30. This represents a 38.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 16.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Essential Partners LLC grew its holdings in StepStone Group by 17,350.0% during the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in StepStone Group by 155.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in StepStone Group by 58.6% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of StepStone Group during the second quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

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.