Wells Fargo & Company Begins Coverage on StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP)

Key Points

• Wells Fargo initiated coverage of StepStone Group with an “overweight” rating and a $55 price target, implying approximately 21.5% upside from the reported share price.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $67.44, although one analyst maintains a sell rating.
• StepStone’s latest quarterly results fell slightly short of expectations: adjusted earnings were $0.48 per share versus $0.50 expected, while revenue reached $300.6 million compared with a $309.3 million consensus estimate.

Equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm set an "overweight" rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price indicates a potential upside of 21.49% from the stock's current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on StepStone Group from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $58.00 price objective on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on StepStone Group from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on StepStone Group from $72.00 to $63.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.44.

StepStone Group Stock Up 1.3%

STEP opened at $45.27 on Friday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $47.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 0.19. StepStone Group has a twelve month low of $38.85 and a twelve month high of $77.79. The firm has a market cap of $5.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.86 and a beta of 1.29.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.02). StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 43.38% and a negative net margin of 30.53%.The firm had revenue of $300.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.32 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that StepStone Group will post 2.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in STEP. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in StepStone Group in the first quarter valued at about $3,898,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in StepStone Group by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 258,448 shares of the company's stock worth $16,585,000 after acquiring an additional 51,125 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in StepStone Group by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,456,150 shares of the company's stock valued at $285,951,000 after purchasing an additional 561,176 shares during the period. Advent International L.P. acquired a new position in StepStone Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $5,733,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in StepStone Group by 11.8% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 314,523 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,009,000 after purchasing an additional 33,210 shares in the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

StepStone Group Company Profile

StepStone Group, Inc is a global investment firm focused on private markets. The company provides investment solutions and advisory services designed to help institutional and private wealth clients build diversified portfolios of alternative investments.

Its platform spans private equity, venture capital, private debt, infrastructure and real estate. StepStone invests through primary commitments to funds, secondary-market transactions and direct or co-investments, and also offers customized portfolios and separately managed investment solutions.

StepStone serves pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and foundations, insurance companies, family offices and private wealth investors across North America, Europe, Asia and other international markets.