StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Price Target Lowered to $60.00 at Barclays

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) had its target price cut by Barclays from $62.00 to $60.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of StepStone Group from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, StepStone Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.62.

StepStone Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STEP opened at $43.68 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $47.73 and a 200-day moving average of $53.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.42 and a beta of 1.31. StepStone Group has a fifty-two week low of $38.85 and a fifty-two week high of $77.79.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $305.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. StepStone Group’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that StepStone Group will post 2.57 EPS for the current 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 $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently -16.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michael I. Mccabe acquired 120,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $41.85 per share, with a total value of $5,022,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 433,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,128,499.30. The trade was a 38.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition 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 the company’s 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 102,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,971,294. The trade was a 49.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 16.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On StepStone Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 72.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $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% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $778,000 after purchasing an additional 908 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in StepStone Group by 6.0% in the first 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. raised its stake in StepStone Group by 21.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 357,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,661,000 after buying an additional 63,519 shares during the period. Finally, United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in shares of StepStone Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

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.