StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP) Receives $40.19 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $40.19.

Several research firms recently weighed in on STEP. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $41.25 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on StepStone Group from $41.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on StepStone Group from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised StepStone Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th.

StepStone Group Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of STEP stock opened at $50.06 on Tuesday. StepStone Group has a 12 month low of $25.06 and a 12 month high of $50.26. The firm has a market cap of $5.54 billion, a PE ratio of 55.62 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $44.88 and a 200-day moving average of $38.51.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $177.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $162.47 million. The company’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.24 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that StepStone Group will post 1.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a Variable dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.9%. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.33%.

Insider Transactions at StepStone Group

In related news, Director Steven R. Mitchell sold 27,500 shares of StepStone Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.34, for a total transaction of $1,219,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $406,110.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other StepStone Group news, Director David F. Hoffmeister acquired 22,500 shares of StepStone Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $44.29 per share, with a total value of $996,525.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 45,853 shares in the company, valued at $2,030,829.37. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven R. Mitchell sold 27,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.34, for a total value of $1,219,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $406,110.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 19.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On StepStone Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 991.1% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 291,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,378,000 after acquiring an additional 264,811 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 25.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,115,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,185,000 after purchasing an additional 225,201 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in StepStone Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,202,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in StepStone Group during the 2nd quarter worth $111,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in StepStone Group by 150.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 850,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,396,000 after buying an additional 510,283 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

About StepStone Group

StepStone Group LP. is an investment firm specializing in direct, fund of funds, secondary direct, and secondary indirect investments. For direct investment, it seeks to invest in venture debt, incubation, mezzanine, distressed/vulture, seed/startup, early venture, mid venture, late venture, emerging growth, later stage, turnaround, growth capital, industry consolidation, recapitalization, private equity and buyout investments in mature and middle market companies.