StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Hits New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Friday . The company traded as low as $40.40 and last traded at $40.6650, with a volume of 193078 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $40.91.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of StepStone Group from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group initiated coverage on StepStone Group in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on StepStone Group from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays boosted their price objective on StepStone Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.88.

StepStone Group Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $50.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.43. The stock has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a PE ratio of -5.92 and a beta of 1.29.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 20th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.06. StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 37.69% and a negative net margin of 26.88%.The firm had revenue of $305.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $292.11 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that StepStone Group Inc. will post 2.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. StepStone Group’s payout ratio is currently -16.47%.

StepStone Group announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, March 9th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at StepStone Group

In other news, insider Michael I. Mccabe acquired 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $41.85 per share, for a total transaction of $5,022,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 433,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,128,499.30. This trade represents a 38.32% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jose A. Fernandez sold 2,290 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.64, for a total transaction of $97,645.60. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 16.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of STEP. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in StepStone Group by 72.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 3,843 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in StepStone Group by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $778,000 after acquiring an additional 908 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in StepStone Group by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 39,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,068,000 after acquiring an additional 2,238 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in StepStone Group by 21.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 357,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,661,000 after acquiring an additional 63,519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in StepStone Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $209,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

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.