StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Shares Down 6.5% – Time to Sell?

StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP)’s stock price fell 6.5% on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $41.13 and last traded at $41.00. 332,885 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 1,231,844 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Monday, July 20th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of StepStone Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, StepStone Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.44.

StepStone Group Trading Down 2.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, a PE ratio of -5.35 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $47.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $300.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.32 million. StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 30.53% and a positive return on equity of 43.38%. Equities analysts expect that StepStone Group Inc. will post 2.50 EPS for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st were given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. This is an increase from StepStone Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. StepStone Group’s payout ratio is currently -17.10%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On StepStone Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of STEP. Essential Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 17,350.0% in the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in StepStone Group by 45.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in StepStone Group during the second quarter worth about $119,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in StepStone Group by 8.8% during the first quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in StepStone Group by 30.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 7,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 1,697 shares in the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

StepStone Group Company Profile

StepStone Group, Inc is a global investment firm focused on private markets. The company provides investment solutions and advisory services designed to help institutional and private wealth clients build diversified portfolios of alternative investments.

Its platform spans private equity, venture capital, private debt, infrastructure and real estate. StepStone invests through primary commitments to funds, secondary-market transactions and direct or co-investments, and also offers customized portfolios and separately managed investment solutions.

StepStone serves pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and foundations, insurance companies, family offices and private wealth investors across North America, Europe, Asia and other international markets.