Barclays Cuts StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Price Target to $69.00

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) had its target price reduced by Barclays from $70.00 to $69.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $73.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised StepStone Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $64.00 to $83.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on StepStone Group in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $74.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.29.

StepStone Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STEP traded up $0.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $62.13. The company had a trading volume of 649,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 621,032. The company has a market capitalization of $7.23 billion, a PE ratio of -7.77 and a beta of 1.36. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.68. StepStone Group has a 1-year low of $40.07 and a 1-year high of $70.38.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $282.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $272.15 million. StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 21.53% and a negative net margin of 40.06%.StepStone Group’s revenue was up 35.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. On average, analysts expect that StepStone Group will post 1.82 EPS for the current year.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 28th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. StepStone Group’s payout ratio is currently -14.00%.

Insider Activity at StepStone Group

In related news, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.34, for a total value of $643,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 30,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,930,200. This represents a 25.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO David Y. Park sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.26, for a total value of $63,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 22,020 shares in the company, valued at $1,392,985.20. This represents a 4.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 31,000 shares of company stock worth $1,968,060 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 16.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of STEP. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of StepStone Group in the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in StepStone Group by 35.5% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in StepStone Group by 332.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in StepStone Group by 14.0% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

About StepStone Group

StepStone Group Inc is a private equity and venture capital firm specializing in direct, fund of funds, secondary direct, and secondary indirect investments. For direct investment, it seeks to invest in private debt, venture debt, incubation, mezzanine, distressed/vulture, seed/startup, early venture, mid venture, late venture, emerging growth, later stage, turnaround, growth capital, industry consolidation, recapitalization, buyout investments in mature and middle market companies.