StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Sell”

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on STEP. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on StepStone Group from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on StepStone Group from $72.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, StepStone Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.88.

StepStone Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STEP opened at $50.40 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $44.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.01 billion, a PE ratio of -6.53 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 0.19 and a quick ratio of 0.24. StepStone Group has a fifty-two week low of $38.85 and a fifty-two week high of $77.79.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $300.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.32 million. StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 43.38% and a negative net margin of 30.53%. As a group, equities analysts predict that StepStone Group will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from StepStone Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio is -14.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jose A. Fernandez sold 2,290 shares of StepStone Group 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Michael I. Mccabe acquired 120,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $41.85 per share, with a total value of $5,022,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 433,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,128,499.30. This trade represents a 38.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 15.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On StepStone Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in shares of StepStone Group by 105.0% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 414 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its stake in StepStone Group by 155.7% during the third 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. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in StepStone Group by 58.6% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 544 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC lifted its holdings in StepStone Group by 17,350.0% in the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 694 shares during the period. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in StepStone Group during the second quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors 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.