StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $52.00, but opened at $54.85. StepStone Group shares last traded at $54.8640, with a volume of 192,328 shares trading hands.

The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.06. StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 30.66% and a positive return on equity of 31.44%. The company had revenue of $305.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $292.11 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio is -16.14%.

StepStone Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 9th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on STEP. Weiss Ratings downgraded StepStone Group from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on StepStone Group from $70.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Zacks Research downgraded StepStone Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Thursday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.13.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On StepStone Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 1.2% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 16,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $806,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 58.6% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position in shares of StepStone Group by 105.0% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its holdings in StepStone Group by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 18,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $870,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

StepStone Group Trading Up 5.2%

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $50.30 and a 200 day moving average of $58.20. The company has a market capitalization of $6.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.90 and a beta of 1.34.

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.