StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Given New $88.00 Price Target at Oppenheimer

Key Points

• Oppenheimer lowered StepStone Group’s price target to $88 from $90 while maintaining an “outperform” rating, implying roughly 75% upside from the cited $50.15 share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with seven Buy ratings, two Holds and one Sell; the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $71.25.
• StepStone’s latest quarterly results fell slightly short of expectations, reporting $0.48 in EPS versus $0.50 expected and revenue of $300.6 million versus $309.3 million forecast.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by equities research analysts at Oppenheimer from $90.00 to $88.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Oppenheimer's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 75.46% from the company's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $58.00 price objective on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded StepStone Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. UBS Group lifted their target price on StepStone Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on StepStone Group from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Friday, August 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.25.

StepStone Group Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of STEP traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $50.15. 123,045 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,260,515. The firm has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.48 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.25. StepStone Group has a 12-month low of $38.85 and a 12-month high of $77.79. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $300.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $309.32 million. StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 43.38% and a negative net margin of 30.53%. Sell-side analysts expect that StepStone Group will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at StepStone Group

In other StepStone Group news, COO Jose A. Fernandez sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total transaction of $4,860,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 102,290 shares in the company, valued at $4,971,294. This represents a 49.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Michael I. Mccabe bought 120,000 shares of StepStone Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $41.85 per share, for a total transaction of $5,022,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 433,178 shares in the company, valued at $18,128,499.30. The trade was a 38.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 15.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On StepStone Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in StepStone Group by 3,976.8% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,415,757 shares of the company's stock worth $141,276,000 after purchasing an additional 3,331,971 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in StepStone Group during the second quarter valued at $119,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in StepStone Group during the second quarter valued at $21,752,000. Essential Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 17,350.0% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 53.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 414,722 shares of the company's stock worth $19,791,000 after purchasing an additional 144,752 shares during the period. 55.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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