StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Rating Increased to Moderate Buy at Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) to a moderate buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday,Zacks reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut StepStone Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on StepStone Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 target price on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Eight equities 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 company. According to MarketBeat, StepStone Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.56.

StepStone Group Price Performance

NASDAQ STEP opened at $48.92 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $47.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.34 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 0.19 and a quick ratio of 0.19. StepStone Group has a 1-year low of $38.85 and a 1-year high of $77.79.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last issued 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). StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 43.38% and a negative net margin of 30.53%.The firm had revenue of $300.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.32 million. On average, equities analysts predict that StepStone Group will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current year.

StepStone Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is an increase from StepStone Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. StepStone Group’s payout ratio is -17.10%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On StepStone Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in StepStone Group by 72.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 3,843 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of StepStone Group by 6.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $778,000 after buying an additional 908 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of StepStone Group by 6.0% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 39,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,068,000 after buying an additional 2,238 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in StepStone Group by 21.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 357,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,661,000 after buying an additional 63,519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in shares of StepStone Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $209,000. Institutional investors own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

About StepStone Group

StepStone Group, Inc is a global investment firm focused on the private markets. The company designs and manages investment programs for institutional investors, family offices, private wealth clients and other organizations seeking access to private-market opportunities.

Its activities include investing in and managing portfolios of private equity, venture capital, private debt, real estate and infrastructure investments. StepStone provides customized portfolios, primary fund investments, secondary-market transactions, co-investments and advisory services across these asset classes.

Founded in 2013, StepStone serves clients through a global network of offices and investment professionals.