NEW YORK, May 24, 2026, 11:08 (EDT)
- StepStone shares finished Friday at $53.74, dropping 1.83% on the session. The stock still sat about 0.4% up from the previous Friday, helped by Thursday’s 5.27% surge.
- Nasdaq will be shut Monday, May 25, for Memorial Day. StepStone’s next normal trading day is Tuesday.
- BMO Capital and Barclays both boosted their price targets following the results. Oppenheimer lowered its target, but still has an Outperform call.
StepStone Group stock eased on Friday, ending at $53.74, down $1.00, or 1.83%. The move cuts into gains from a recent post-earnings rally as investors head into the long U.S. market weekend.
StepStone (Nasdaq) won’t trade Monday as U.S. equity markets are shut for Memorial Day. That leaves investors sifting through the private-markets manager’s earnings, analyst moves, and fund valuation concerns until trading picks up again Tuesday.
StepStone managed a weekly gain. Shares finished May 15 at $53.54 and ended May 22 at $53.74. The stock dropped early in the week, surged 5.27% Thursday, then lost some ground Friday.
StepStone posted its results after the bell Wednesday. The firm’s board declared a $0.28 quarterly dividend and a $0.55 supplemental payout, both set for June 30 for shareholders on record as of June 15. StepStone reported $885 billion in total capital responsibility at March 31, with assets under management at $233 billion.
StepStone CEO Scott Hart told analysts on the earnings call the firm just had its “best quarter ever of fee-related earnings,” pointing to fees from management and advisory — not investment gains. CFO David Park said fee-related earnings were up 12% year over year at $105 million. Adjusted net income was $69 million, or 57 cents per share, which was down due to weaker performance-related earnings. Investing
Wall Street’s opening takes were largely positive but not unanimous. BMO Capital’s Brennan Hawken bumped his price target up to $62 from $54 and stayed at Outperform. He said record wealth fundraising beat consensus on AUM. Barclays’ Benjamin Budish lifted his target to $62 from $61, keeping his Overweight rating. Budish said wealth-flow momentum “looks set to continue” in May. TipRanks
Oppenheimer cut its price target to $85 from $90, but left its Outperform rating unchanged. The firm noted the stock fell in after-hours trading on earnings day, though it said results were in line or better than expected.
Alternative-asset managers saw mixed trading Friday. Hamilton Lane added 1.95%. KKR dropped 0.78% and Blue Owl slipped 1.18%. StepStone dropped 1.83%, giving up more after bouncing on Thursday’s earnings.
StepStone kept up the focus on its data and index plans. Mike McCabe, head of strategy at the firm, said deals with FTSE Russell, Kroll and PitchBook are still just starting out and near-term revenue should be “modest at first.” Hart said FTSE StepStone private-market indices are meant to get traction first, with investable products maybe coming later. Investing
StepStone hired Taylor Benson to head up its U.S. defined contribution business this week. Benson was previously at BlackRock. The move targets retirement-plan fiduciaries looking at private-market exposure. Benson said private markets could have a “constructive role” in retirement portfolios when handled in a fiduciary setup. StepStone Group Inc.
But risk is still out there. Investors are watching how StepStone values its secondary-market stakes and what mix of funding it uses to buy into StepStone Private Wealth. Park said the final price would depend on business performance and StepStone’s trading multiple, and could use cash, debt, equity or other financing. Hart told investors to expect mostly equity.
Another issue is exits. Hart said industry realizations have gotten better in dollar terms, but distributions as a share of net asset value are still well under historic norms. Middle East conflict, private-credit concerns and questions about AI are holding back some exit deals. Next week, for StepStone’s stock, the main question is whether investors look at fee growth and private-wealth inflows, or put more weight on valuation, dilution, and what’s still a choppy exit market.
