StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Trading 6.9% Higher - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• StepStone Group shares rose 6.9% in Wednesday trading, reaching as high as $46.50 after closing at $43.42, though volume was far below average.
• Analysts remain generally positive despite some price-target cuts: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus with a $70.12 average target, and seven analysts rate it Buy.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.57 beating estimates and revenue of $305.84 million topping forecasts; it also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share.

StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 6.9% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $46.50 and last traded at $46.4220. Approximately 193,770 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 1,251,318 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.42.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $62.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays reduced their price objective on StepStone Group from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut StepStone Group from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.12.

StepStone Group Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.38. The company has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a PE ratio of -6.64 and a beta of 1.31.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $305.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $292.11 million. StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 37.69% and a negative net margin of 26.88%.The company's revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that StepStone Group Inc. will post 2.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. StepStone Group's payout ratio is presently -16.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at StepStone Group

In other news, insider Michael I. Mccabe purchased 120,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were purchased 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 approximately $18,128,499.30. This represents a 38.32% increase in their position. The transaction 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 the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was 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 owned 102,290 shares in the company, valued at $4,971,294. This represents a 49.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 16.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of StepStone Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of STEP. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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 increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 908 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of StepStone Group by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 39,602 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,068,000 after purchasing an additional 2,238 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 21.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 357,281 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,661,000 after buying an additional 63,519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in shares of StepStone Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $209,000. 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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