StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Shares of StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $63.58, but opened at $66.10. StepStone Group shares last traded at $65.96, with a volume of 10,749 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $74.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered StepStone Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on StepStone Group from $61.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded StepStone Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $64.00 to $83.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.57.

StepStone Group Trading Down 0.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $7.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.27 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $62.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.22.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.05. StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 21.53% and a negative net margin of 40.06%.The business had revenue of $282.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $272.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 35.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that StepStone Group Inc. will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current year.

StepStone Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. StepStone Group’s payout ratio is presently -14.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.70, for a total transaction of $617,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,234,000. This represents a 33.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michael I. Mccabe sold 117,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 306,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,258,921.20. This represents a 27.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 352,858 shares of company stock valued at $22,679,344 over the last ninety days. 16.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 65.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,723,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,774,000 after acquiring an additional 2,257,880 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in StepStone Group by 269.8% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,962,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $154,748,000 after purchasing an additional 2,161,548 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in StepStone Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $50,859,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in StepStone Group by 320.8% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 749,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,972,000 after buying an additional 571,643 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its holdings in StepStone Group by 401.0% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 604,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,481,000 after buying an additional 483,847 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

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.