StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Upgraded at Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) to a moderate buy rating in a report published on Wednesday,Zacks reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on StepStone Group from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $72.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of StepStone Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price target on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Eight 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, StepStone Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.56.

StepStone Group Stock Performance

Shares of STEP opened at $48.92 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 0.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $47.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.34 and a beta of 1.29. StepStone Group has a 52 week low of $38.85 and a 52 week high of $77.79.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.02). StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 30.53% and a positive return on equity of 43.38%. The company had revenue of $300.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.32 million. Equities analysts forecast that StepStone Group will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a $0.33 dividend. This is an increase from StepStone Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. StepStone Group’s payout ratio is presently -17.10%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On StepStone Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in StepStone Group by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 670,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,006,000 after buying an additional 46,273 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in StepStone Group in the first quarter worth about $3,898,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in StepStone Group by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 258,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,585,000 after acquiring an additional 51,125 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in StepStone Group by 14.4% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Advent International L.P. bought a new position in shares of StepStone Group during 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, Inc is a global investment firm focused on the private markets. The company designs and manages investment programs for institutional investors, family offices, private wealth clients and other organizations seeking access to private-market opportunities.

Its activities include investing in and managing portfolios of private equity, venture capital, private debt, real estate and infrastructure investments. StepStone provides customized portfolios, primary fund investments, secondary-market transactions, co-investments and advisory services across these asset classes.

Founded in 2013, StepStone serves clients through a global network of offices and investment professionals.