StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) Receives $71.88 Average PT from Brokerages

StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $71.8750.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on STEP shares. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Thursday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 21st.

StepStone Group Price Performance

STEP stock opened at $40.27 on Tuesday. StepStone Group has a 52-week low of $38.85 and a 52-week high of $77.79. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.92 and a beta of 1.29.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.06. StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 26.88% and a positive return on equity of 37.69%. The business had revenue of $305.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.11 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that StepStone Group will post 2.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, March 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. StepStone Group’s payout ratio is presently -16.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michael I. Mccabe acquired 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $41.85 per share, with a total value of $5,022,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 433,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,128,499.30. This trade represents a 38.32% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Jose A. Fernandez sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total transaction of $4,860,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 102,290 shares in the company, valued at $4,971,294. The trade was a 49.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 16.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of StepStone Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in StepStone Group by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,449,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $542,229,000 after acquiring an additional 728,410 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in StepStone Group by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,227,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $399,635,000 after acquiring an additional 504,680 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in StepStone Group by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,102,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,439,000 after acquiring an additional 724,201 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in StepStone Group by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,456,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,951,000 after acquiring an additional 561,176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in StepStone Group by 2.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,138,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $270,317,000 after acquiring an additional 95,339 shares in the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.