StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• StepStone Group has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 10 brokerages, with seven buy ratings, two hold ratings and one sell rating. The average 1-year price target is about $70.13.
• The company recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting EPS of $0.57 versus $0.51 expected and revenue of $305.84 million versus $292.11 million expected. Revenue rose 3.4% year over year, though net margin remained negative.
• StepStone also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, implying an annualized yield of 2.6%. Insider trading was mixed, with one executive buying shares and another selling under a pre-arranged trading plan.

StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the ten brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $70.1250.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on STEP shares. UBS Group began coverage on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered StepStone Group from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on StepStone Group from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 21st.

StepStone Group Price Performance

StepStone Group stock opened at $43.55 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $46.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.00. StepStone Group has a fifty-two week low of $38.85 and a fifty-two week high of $77.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.40 and a beta of 1.31.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $305.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $292.11 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that StepStone Group will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. StepStone Group's payout ratio is -16.47%.

Insider Activity at StepStone Group

In related news, insider Michael I. Mccabe bought 120,000 shares of the company's 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,128,499.30. This 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 StepStone Group 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 102,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,971,294. The trade was a 49.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 16.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On StepStone Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in STEP. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 670,192 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,006,000 after purchasing an additional 46,273 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in StepStone Group by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 258,448 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,585,000 after buying an additional 51,125 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in StepStone Group by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,456,150 shares of the company's stock valued at $285,951,000 after buying an additional 561,176 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in StepStone Group by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,776,677 shares of the company's stock worth $114,028,000 after buying an additional 52,713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP lifted its position in StepStone Group by 213.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 156,855 shares of the company's stock worth $10,244,000 after buying an additional 106,781 shares in the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is currently 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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