StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP) Receives $61.64 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $61.64.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on STEP shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on StepStone Group from $66.00 to $51.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Oppenheimer set a $67.00 price target on StepStone Group and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays dropped their price target on StepStone Group from $69.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on StepStone Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th.

StepStone Group Price Performance

Shares of STEP opened at $58.72 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.87. StepStone Group has a one year low of $40.07 and a one year high of $70.38. The company has a market cap of $6.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.75 and a beta of 1.37.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.24. StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 12.04% and a negative net margin of 11.29%. The firm had revenue of $295.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $231.87 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 66.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that StepStone Group will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. StepStone Group’s payout ratio is -40.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other StepStone Group news, insider Jason P. Ment sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.02, for a total transaction of $48,016.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 90,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,441,593.26. This trade represents a 0.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.01, for a total transaction of $54,009.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 109,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,547,091. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 18.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of StepStone Group in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of StepStone Group in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of StepStone Group in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of StepStone Group in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 154 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.