Analysts Set StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) Price Target at $80.57

Shares of StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nine analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $80.5714.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on STEP shares. Barclays set a $67.00 target price on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research lowered StepStone Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen raised StepStone Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price target on StepStone Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $105.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 9th.

StepStone Group Price Performance

Shares of StepStone Group stock opened at $50.07 on Wednesday. StepStone Group has a one year low of $40.07 and a one year high of $77.79. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.21 and a beta of 1.32.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.65 EPS 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 company had revenue of $241.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.92 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 102.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that StepStone Group will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. StepStone Group’s payout ratio is currently -16.14%.

Insider Transactions at StepStone Group

In other news, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total value of $725,200.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michael I. Mccabe sold 117,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.20, for a total value of $7,800,875.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 306,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,258,921.20. The trade was a 27.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 222,052 shares of company stock valued at $14,713,290. 16.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On StepStone Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position 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 worth $477,000 after buying an additional 3,843 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in StepStone Group by 6.5% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $778,000 after acquiring an additional 908 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in StepStone Group by 6.0% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 39,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,068,000 after purchasing an additional 2,238 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 21.6% during the first 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 bought a new position in shares of StepStone Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.