StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) Short Interest Update

StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,402,043 shares, a decrease of 21.0% from the November 30th total of 3,041,759 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 760,218 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 760,218 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value of $661,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $661,700. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Jose A. Fernandez sold 70,404 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.41, for a total transaction of $4,323,509.64. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 140,806 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,646,896.46. This represents a 33.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 362,858 shares of company stock worth $23,341,044 in the last 90 days. 16.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On StepStone Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STEP. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 269.8% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,962,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $154,748,000 after buying an additional 2,161,548 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in StepStone Group during the first quarter worth about $757,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 14,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $788,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Monument Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of StepStone Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $272,000. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 36.1% during the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 523,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,222,000 after purchasing an additional 138,857 shares during the period. 55.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on StepStone Group from $61.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on StepStone Group in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $74.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $84.00 to $83.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.57.

StepStone Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:STEP traded down $0.34 on Wednesday, reaching $64.26. The stock had a trading volume of 3,927 shares, compared to its average volume of 626,841. StepStone Group has a 12-month low of $40.07 and a 12-month high of $68.40. The company has a market cap of $7.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.04 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $62.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.51.

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

StepStone Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently -14.00%.

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.