StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Shares Down 7.7% – Time to Sell?
by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets DailyStepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP – Get Free Report) fell 7.7% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $52.75 and last traded at $52.4740. 273,399 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 942,050 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.86.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Evercore set a $73.00 price objective on StepStone Group in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 target price on StepStone Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on StepStone Group from $105.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of StepStone Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. One 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 issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.57.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on STEP
StepStone Group Trading Down 6.9%
The company has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.21 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.82.
StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $241.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.92 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 102.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that StepStone Group Inc. will post 1.82 EPS for the current year.
StepStone Group Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio is -16.14%.
Insider Transactions at StepStone Group
In related news, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of the firm’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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael I. Mccabe sold 117,838 shares of StepStone Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.20, for a total transaction of $7,800,875.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 306,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,258,921.20. This represents a 27.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 222,052 shares of company stock valued at $14,713,290 over the last quarter. Insiders own 16.47% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 2.7% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 967,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,207,000 after purchasing an additional 25,559 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in StepStone Group by 49.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 487,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,836,000 after purchasing an additional 160,318 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its stake in StepStone Group by 36.1% during the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 523,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,222,000 after buying an additional 138,857 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in StepStone Group by 10.8% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 36,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,007,000 after buying an additional 3,524 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in StepStone Group by 3.1% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 14,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $825,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
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.