StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $71.8750.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on StepStone Group in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research lowered StepStone Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays upped their target price on StepStone Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on StepStone Group from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Thursday, May 21st.

StepStone Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STEP opened at $50.09 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.37 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.83. StepStone Group has a twelve month low of $40.58 and a twelve month high of $77.79.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $305.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that StepStone Group will post 2.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio is -16.47%.

StepStone Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 9th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 1.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On StepStone Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of STEP. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of StepStone Group by 72.6% during the 1st 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 position in shares of StepStone Group by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $778,000 after purchasing an additional 908 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in StepStone Group by 6.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,238 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 63,519 shares during the period. Finally, United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in StepStone Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $209,000. 55.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.