Wall Street Zen Upgrades StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) to “Hold”

by · The Markets Daily

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP – Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on STEP. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group upped their target price on StepStone Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on StepStone Group from $58.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, StepStone Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.78.

Read Our Latest Research Report on StepStone Group

StepStone Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:STEP opened at $47.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.07 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. StepStone Group has a 12-month low of $38.85 and a 12-month high of $77.79. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.90.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.11. StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 36.09% and a negative net margin of 13.68%. The firm had revenue of $362.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.84 million. Analysts predict that StepStone Group will post 2.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of StepStone Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in StepStone Group by 1.2% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 16,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in StepStone Group by 45.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in StepStone Group by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in StepStone Group by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $823,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

StepStone Group News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting StepStone Group this week:

  • Positive Sentiment: StepStone reported quarterly EPS of $0.66, above the $0.55 consensus estimate, and revenue of $362.71 million versus estimates of $324.84 million. EPS also increased from $0.54 a year earlier, supporting the view that results were stronger than expected. Quarterly earnings results
  • Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target to $68 from $65 and reiterated an “outperform” rating. Barclays lifted its target to $65 from $62 and kept an “overweight” rating. The target increases signal improved analyst expectations for the shares. Royal Bank of Canada rating Barclays rating
  • Neutral Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, payable December 15 to shareholders of record November 30. The annualized payout is $1.32 per share, a 2.8% yield at the cited share price; the dividend may appeal to income-focused investors but is not as direct a growth catalyst as the earnings beat.

About StepStone Group

(Get Free Report)

StepStone Group Inc is a global investment firm focused on private markets. The company helps institutional and other investors build and manage portfolios across private equity, private debt, infrastructure, and real estate.

Its services include selecting and monitoring investments in private-market funds, making direct investments in companies and assets, and advising clients on portfolio strategy. StepStone also provides investment research and data services to support its work.

Founded in 2007, StepStone serves clients including pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, endowments, foundations, and family offices.

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