StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Now Covered by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets has initiated coverage on StepStone Group, setting an "outperform" rating and a price target of $74.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.43% from its previous close.
• The stock has seen mixed analyst ratings, with Goldman Sachs upgrading it to "buy" and a consensus average rating of "Moderate Buy," reflecting positive sentiment among several brokerages.
• CEO Scott W. Hart recently sold 10,000 shares of StepStone Group stock, which constitutes a 20.00% decrease in his holdings, raising concerns about insider activity amidst the stock's performance fluctuations.

Equities research analysts at BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm set an "outperform" rating and a $74.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets' price objective points to a potential upside of 14.43% from the company's previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on STEP. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of StepStone Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $64.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Barclays lifted their price objective on StepStone Group from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research cut StepStone Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $84.00 price target (up previously from $81.00) on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, StepStone Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.71.

StepStone Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ STEP opened at $64.67 on Friday. StepStone Group has a one year low of $40.07 and a one year high of $70.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $61.66 and a 200 day moving average of $57.03. The company has a market capitalization of $7.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.00 and a beta of 1.37.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.02). StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 17.10% and a positive return on equity of 16.07%. The company had revenue of $237.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.48 EPS. StepStone Group's revenue was up 95.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that StepStone Group will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at StepStone Group

In other StepStone Group news, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.70, for a total transaction of $647,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,588,000. This trade represents a 20.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO David Y. Park sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.26, for a total transaction of $63,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 22,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,392,985.20. The trade was a 4.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,540,360 over the last three months. 16.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On StepStone Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in StepStone Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of StepStone Group in the second quarter worth $46,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of StepStone Group by 38.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,169 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in StepStone Group by 332.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in StepStone Group by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,600 shares of the company's stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.54% of the company's stock.

About StepStone Group

StepStone Group Inc is a private equity and venture capital firm specializing in direct, fund of funds, secondary direct, and secondary indirect investments. For direct investment, it seeks to invest in private debt, venture debt, incubation, mezzanine, distressed/vulture, seed/startup, early venture, mid venture, late venture, emerging growth, later stage, turnaround, growth capital, industry consolidation, recapitalization, buyout investments in mature and middle market companies.

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