UBS Group Begins Coverage on StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP)

Stock analysts at UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 27.69% from the stock’s current price.

STEP has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price objective on StepStone Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Evercore set a $73.00 price objective on StepStone Group in a report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays upgraded shares of StepStone Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $67.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of StepStone Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Seven equities research 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.50.

StepStone Group Price Performance

STEP opened at $46.99 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.77 and a beta of 1.32. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.96. StepStone Group has a one year low of $40.07 and a one year high of $77.79.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.05. StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 30.66% and a positive return on equity of 31.44%. The firm had revenue of $241.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.92 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. StepStone Group’s revenue was up 102.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that StepStone Group will post 1.82 EPS for the current year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total transaction of $725,200.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 16.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On StepStone Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in StepStone Group by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 967,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,207,000 after buying an additional 25,559 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in StepStone Group in the third quarter valued at about $50,859,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in StepStone Group by 49.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 487,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,836,000 after acquiring an additional 160,318 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 16.6% in the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 623,919 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,748,000 after acquiring an additional 88,794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of StepStone Group by 36.1% during the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 523,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,222,000 after purchasing an additional 138,857 shares during the period. 55.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.