StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) Receives $70.88 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $70.8750.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on StepStone Group from $72.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 target price on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered StepStone Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on StepStone Group from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th.

StepStone Group Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ STEP opened at $48.48 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 0.19 and a quick ratio of 0.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $44.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.96. The company has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.28 and a beta of 1.27. StepStone Group has a 12 month low of $38.85 and a 12 month high of $77.79.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.02). StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 43.38% and a negative net margin of 30.53%.The company had revenue of $300.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $309.32 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that StepStone Group will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from StepStone Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. StepStone Group’s payout ratio is -14.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Jose A. Fernandez sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total transaction of $4,860,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Michael I. Mccabe acquired 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $41.85 per share, for a total transaction of $5,022,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 433,178 shares in the company, valued at $18,128,499.30. The trade was a 38.32% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 15.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On StepStone Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in STEP. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in StepStone Group by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 670,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,006,000 after acquiring an additional 46,273 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in StepStone Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,898,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in StepStone Group by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 258,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,585,000 after acquiring an additional 51,125 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in StepStone Group by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,456,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,951,000 after acquiring an additional 561,176 shares during the period. Finally, Advent International L.P. purchased a new position in shares of StepStone Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $5,733,000. 55.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.