StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $70.8750.

Several brokerages have recently commented on STEP. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price target on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Friday. UBS Group boosted their target price on StepStone Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on StepStone Group from $72.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st.

StepStone Group Stock Up 7.3%

Shares of NASDAQ STEP opened at $49.51 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.41 and a beta of 1.27. StepStone Group has a 52 week low of $38.85 and a 52 week high of $77.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $43.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share 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. Equities research analysts anticipate that StepStone Group will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -14.51%.

Insider Transactions at StepStone Group

In related news, COO Jose A. Fernandez sold 2,290 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.64, for a total value of $97,645.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Michael I. Mccabe bought 120,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased 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 approximately $18,128,499.30. This trade represents a 38.32% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 15.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On StepStone Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 72.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 3,843 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in StepStone Group by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $778,000 after purchasing an additional 908 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in StepStone Group by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 39,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,068,000 after purchasing an additional 2,238 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in StepStone Group by 21.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 357,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,661,000 after purchasing an additional 63,519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in StepStone Group in the first quarter valued at about $209,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

About StepStone Group

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.