StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP – Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.06, FiscalAI reports. StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 31.44% and a negative net margin of 30.66%.The firm had revenue of $305.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $292.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis.
Here are the key takeaways from StepStone Group’s conference call:
- StepStone posted a record quarter of fee-related earnings at $105 million, up 12% year over year, with a 40% FRE margin and core FRE up 28% excluding retroactive fees.
- The company delivered a record quarter of fundraising at nearly $14 billion, contributing to a record fiscal year of $38 billion in gross AUM additions.
- Private wealth momentum remained strong, with $2.3 billion of new subscriptions in the quarter and StepStone highlighting its best-ever organic private wealth inflows, led by continued demand for the SPRING venture fund.
- Fee-earning AUM plus undeployed fee-earning capital reached a record $184 billion, and UFEC rose to about $40 billion, which management expects to convert into fee-earning assets over the next few quarters.
- Management also announced a $0.55 per share supplemental dividend, a $100 million share repurchase authorization, and a prospective fee-rate change for the flagship PE secondaries fund that will lower fees during the investment period but raise them afterward.
StepStone Group Price Performance
STEP opened at $52.00 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.20. StepStone Group has a 1-year low of $40.58 and a 1-year high of $77.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.49 and a beta of 1.34.
StepStone Group Announces Dividend
StepStone Group News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting StepStone Group this week:
- Positive Sentiment: StepStone reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.57 topping estimates of $0.51 and revenue of $305.84 million beating expectations of $292.11 million. The company also declared a regular cash dividend of $0.28 per share plus a supplemental dividend of $0.55 per share, signaling confidence in cash generation. StepStone Group Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2026 Results
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market coverage highlighted that StepStone’s earnings and revenue surpassed Wall Street estimates, which is typically supportive for the stock after an earnings release. StepStone Group Inc. (STEP) Q4 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates
- Neutral Sentiment: Additional transcript and earnings-preview coverage suggest investors are still focused on management’s outlook, key operating metrics, and commentary from the conference call for signs on how sustainable the quarter’s performance may be. StepStone (STEP) Q4 2026 Earnings Transcript
- Negative Sentiment: Barron’s reported that StepStone could face a costly payout to fund managers, raising concerns about future expenses and potential pressure on profitability despite the beat. A Costly Payout Looms for Private Asset Manager StepStone
StepStone Group declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, March 9th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
Institutional Trading of StepStone Group
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 155.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 514 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of StepStone Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 332.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of StepStone Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $73,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 368.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 1,748 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.54% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
STEP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on StepStone Group from $104.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. UBS Group initiated coverage on StepStone Group in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on StepStone Group from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price objective on StepStone Group in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.75.
View Our Latest Stock Report on STEP
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.
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