Key Points
- StepStone Group COO Jose Fernandez sold 100,000 shares on June 1 at an average price of $48.60, totaling about $4.86 million. The sale cut his ownership by nearly half and was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
- The stock was down 5.3% and opened at $43.63, well below its 50-day average of $51.19 and 200-day average of $57.40. StepStone still has a market value of about $5.2 billion and trades near its 12-month low of $40.58.
- The company recently beat earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $0.57 EPS versus $0.51 expected and revenue of $305.84 million versus $292.11 million expected. StepStone also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share and has a $100 million share repurchase authorization in place.
StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP - Get Free Report) COO Jose Fernandez sold 2,290 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
StepStone Group Stock Down 5.3%
Shares of NASDAQ STEP opened at $43.63 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.42 and a beta of 1.29. StepStone Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.58 and a 52 week high of $77.79.
StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $305.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $292.11 million. StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 26.88% and a positive return on equity of 37.69%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that StepStone Group Inc. will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.
StepStone Group announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, March 9th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.
StepStone Group Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. StepStone Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -16.47%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On StepStone Group
A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in STEP. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in shares of StepStone Group by 105.0% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 414 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its position in shares of StepStone Group by 2,285.7% during the third quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 501 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC increased its position in shares of StepStone Group by 17,350.0% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of StepStone Group by 155.7% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 514 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of StepStone Group by 58.6% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 544 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities analysts have weighed in on STEP shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of StepStone Group from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.88.
View Our Latest Stock Report on STEP
StepStone Group Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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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