StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate StepStone Group “Moderate Buy,” with seven buys, two holds and one sell among 10 analysts. The average 12-month price target is $71.25, versus the stock’s reported $50.92 opening price.
• StepStone Group’s latest quarterly results fell short of expectations, with earnings per share of $0.48 versus the $0.50 consensus and revenue of $300.6 million versus estimates of $309.32 million.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.33 per share, implying an annualized dividend of $1.32 and a 2.6% yield. Institutional investors own 55.54% of the stock, while insiders hold 15.70%.

Shares of StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $71.25.

STEP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $56.00 target price on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of StepStone Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $58.00 price target on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Friday, August 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Monday, July 20th.

StepStone Group Stock Up 0.0%

STEP opened at $50.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 0.19 and a quick ratio of 0.19. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.60 and a beta of 1.29. StepStone Group has a 12 month low of $38.85 and a 12 month high of $77.79.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.02). StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 30.53% and a positive return on equity of 43.38%. The business had revenue of $300.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $309.32 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that StepStone Group will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This is a positive change from StepStone Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. StepStone Group's payout ratio is -17.10%.

Insider Activity at StepStone Group

In other news, insider Michael Mcabe purchased 120,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $41.85 per share, with a total value of $5,022,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 433,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,128,499.30. The trade was a 38.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 15.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On StepStone Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in StepStone Group by 72.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,135 shares of the company's stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 3,843 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,904 shares of the company's stock worth $778,000 after buying an additional 908 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 39,602 shares of the company's stock worth $2,068,000 after buying an additional 2,238 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of StepStone Group by 21.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 357,281 shares of the company's stock worth $18,661,000 after buying an additional 63,519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in shares of StepStone Group in the 1st quarter worth about $209,000. 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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