StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Shares Up 5.3% – Still a Buy?

Shares of StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) traded up 5.3% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $45.82 and last traded at $45.6480. 226,871 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 1,326,293 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.33.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on STEP shares. Barclays upgraded shares of StepStone Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 target price on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded StepStone Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, Evercore set a $73.00 price objective on StepStone Group in a report on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, StepStone Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.86.

StepStone Group Stock Up 3.9%

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.44. The company has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.49 and a beta of 1.39.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $241.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue was up 102.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.44 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that StepStone Group Inc. will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current year.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -16.14%.

StepStone Group announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Monday, March 9th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $725,200.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 16.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its holdings in StepStone Group by 2,285.7% during the 3rd quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 501 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised 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 during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 58.6% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 127.8% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.