StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Hold

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI set a $73.00 price objective on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on StepStone Group from $105.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Evercore set a $73.00 price objective on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, StepStone Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.63.

StepStone Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:STEP opened at $59.30 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $67.63 and its 200-day moving average is $64.06. StepStone Group has a 52-week low of $40.07 and a 52-week high of $77.79. The company has a market cap of $7.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.54 and a beta of 1.32.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael I. Mccabe sold 74,214 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.14, for a total value of $4,908,513.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 122,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,082,903.26. This represents a 37.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total value of $725,200.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 222,052 shares of company stock valued at $14,713,290. 16.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On StepStone Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in StepStone Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $136,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in StepStone Group by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 57,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,689,000 after purchasing an additional 5,432 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 251.8% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 58,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,726,000 after purchasing an additional 41,563 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,182,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,900,000 after purchasing an additional 8,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of StepStone Group by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,056,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,155,000 after buying an additional 94,819 shares during the period. 55.54% of the stock is currently owned by 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.