BMO Capital Markets Cuts StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Price Target to $58.00

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) had its target price cut by BMO Capital Markets from $70.00 to $58.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised StepStone Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $67.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research lowered StepStone Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on StepStone Group from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price target on StepStone Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of StepStone Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, StepStone Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.57.

StepStone Group Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of STEP opened at $46.85 on Tuesday. StepStone Group has a 12 month low of $40.07 and a 12 month high of $77.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $56.07 and its 200-day moving average is $61.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of -6.75 and a beta of 1.39.

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

StepStone Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, March 9th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

StepStone Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -16.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total transaction of $725,200.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 16.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of StepStone Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in StepStone Group by 105.0% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 414 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 2,285.7% in the 3rd quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 155.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 58.6% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 127.8% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.