StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Now Covered by Analysts at UBS Group

UBS Group began coverage on shares of StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on STEP. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 target price on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Zacks Research cut shares of StepStone Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised StepStone Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, Evercore set a $73.00 price objective on StepStone Group in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.50.

StepStone Group Price Performance

Shares of STEP stock opened at $47.05 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a PE ratio of -6.78 and a beta of 1.32. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.87. StepStone Group has a one year low of $40.07 and a one year high of $77.79.

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

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

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

StepStone Group announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, March 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other StepStone Group news, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of StepStone Group stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total value of $725,200.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 16.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of StepStone Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in STEP. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in StepStone Group by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in StepStone Group by 58.6% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 105.0% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased 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 valued at $121,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of StepStone Group by 35.5% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. 55.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.