StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on StepStone Group in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $74.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of StepStone Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $64.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $61.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on StepStone Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.57.

StepStone Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:STEP opened at $72.12 on Friday. StepStone Group has a 1 year low of $40.07 and a 1 year high of $73.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $63.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.02 and a beta of 1.34.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.05. StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 40.06% and a positive return on equity of 21.53%. The business had revenue of $282.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $272.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 35.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that StepStone Group will post 1.82 EPS for the current year.

StepStone Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. StepStone Group’s payout ratio is currently -14.00%.

Insider Activity at StepStone Group

In other news, insider Michael I. Mccabe sold 117,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $20,258,921.20. This represents a 27.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total transaction of $661,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $661,700. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 362,858 shares of company stock worth $23,341,044. 16.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On StepStone Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in StepStone Group by 13.1% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its position in StepStone Group by 0.9% during the second quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 24,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,376,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in StepStone Group by 14.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in StepStone Group by 35.5% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares during the period. 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.