StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nine brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $78.8571.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on STEP shares. Wall Street Zen raised StepStone Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price objective on StepStone Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded StepStone Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total transaction of $725,200.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 16.47% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On StepStone Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in STEP. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in StepStone Group by 58.6% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 544 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 105.0% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in StepStone Group by 35.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

StepStone Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STEP opened at $46.73 on Friday. StepStone Group has a 1-year low of $40.07 and a 1-year high of $77.79. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $58.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a PE ratio of -6.73 and a beta of 1.39.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.05. StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 30.66% and a positive return on equity of 31.44%. The firm had revenue of $241.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.92 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. StepStone Group’s revenue was up 102.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that StepStone Group will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 9th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 1.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. StepStone Group’s payout ratio is presently -16.14%.

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.