StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Trading Up 6.5% – What’s Next?

StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP)’s stock price was up 6.5% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $49.17 and last traded at $49.1350. 620,601 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 1,286,815 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STEP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price target on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Friday. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Friday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, StepStone Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.88.

StepStone Group Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $5.90 billion, a PE ratio of -6.40 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.09 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.99.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $300.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $309.32 million. StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 30.53% and a positive return on equity of 43.38%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that StepStone Group Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from StepStone Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio is -14.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at StepStone Group

In other StepStone Group news, COO Jose A. Fernandez sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $4,971,294. The trade was a 49.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Michael I. Mccabe acquired 120,000 shares of StepStone Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $41.85 per share, for a total transaction of $5,022,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 433,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,128,499.30. This represents a 38.32% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 15.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On StepStone Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in StepStone Group by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 670,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,006,000 after acquiring an additional 46,273 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of StepStone Group in the 1st quarter valued at $3,898,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of StepStone Group by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 258,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,585,000 after purchasing an additional 51,125 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of StepStone Group by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,456,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,951,000 after purchasing an additional 561,176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advent International L.P. acquired a new position in shares of StepStone Group during the first quarter worth $5,733,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.