Engineers Gate Manager LP Acquires 66,138 Shares of StepStone Group Inc. $STEP

Key Points

• Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its StepStone Group stake by 338.9% in the second quarter, acquiring 66,138 additional shares for a total holding of 85,654 shares valued at approximately $3.54 million.
• StepStone reported quarterly EPS of $0.48, below the $0.50 consensus estimate, while revenue of $300.6 million also fell short of expectations. The company nevertheless raised its quarterly dividend to $0.33 per share, implying a 2.7% annualized yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $70.56, well above the stock’s reported price of $48.92.

Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its holdings in StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP - Free Report) by 338.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,654 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 66,138 shares during the quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP owned 0.07% of StepStone Group worth $3,543,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STEP. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in StepStone Group by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 16,895 shares of the company's stock valued at $806,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 18,234 shares of the company's stock valued at $870,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,899 shares of the company's stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in StepStone Group by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,409 shares of the company's stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.54% of the company's stock.

StepStone Group Price Performance

NASDAQ STEP opened at $48.92 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $5.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.34 and a beta of 1.29. The business's fifty day moving average price is $47.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.74. StepStone Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.85 and a 1-year high of $77.79.

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

StepStone Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is a positive change from StepStone Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. StepStone Group's payout ratio is currently -17.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on STEP. Barclays upped their price objective on StepStone Group from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $72.00 to $63.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $58.00 target price on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on StepStone Group in a research note on Wednesday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.56.

About StepStone Group

StepStone Group, Inc is a global investment firm focused on the private markets. The company designs and manages investment programs for institutional investors, family offices, private wealth clients and other organizations seeking access to private-market opportunities.

Its activities include investing in and managing portfolios of private equity, venture capital, private debt, real estate and infrastructure investments. StepStone provides customized portfolios, primary fund investments, secondary-market transactions, co-investments and advisory services across these asset classes.

Founded in 2013, StepStone serves clients through a global network of offices and investment professionals.

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