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

StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $71.8750.

A number of research firms have commented on STEP. Weiss Ratings lowered StepStone Group from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on StepStone Group from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on StepStone Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on StepStone Group from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling at StepStone Group

In other StepStone Group news, insider Michael I. Mccabe purchased 120,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $41.85 per share, for a total transaction of $5,022,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 433,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,128,499.30. This trade represents a 38.32% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jose A. Fernandez sold 100,000 shares of StepStone Group stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total value of $4,860,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 102,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,971,294. The trade was 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. Company insiders own 16.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On StepStone Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,449,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $542,229,000 after acquiring an additional 728,410 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,227,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $399,635,000 after acquiring an additional 504,680 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,102,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $327,439,000 after acquiring an additional 724,201 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,456,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,951,000 after acquiring an additional 561,176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,138,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $270,317,000 after acquiring an additional 95,339 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

StepStone Group Price Performance

StepStone Group stock opened at $45.46 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $50.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.88. StepStone Group has a one year low of $40.58 and a one year high of $77.79. The firm has a market cap of $5.43 billion, a PE ratio of -6.69 and a beta of 1.29.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 20th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.06. StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 37.69% and a negative net margin of 26.88%.The firm had revenue of $305.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.11 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that StepStone Group will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 9th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 1.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

StepStone Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -16.47%.

About StepStone Group

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.