Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Burford Capital Limited (NYSE:BUR) shares gapped down prior to trading on Monday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The stock had previously closed at $5.14, but opened at $4.93. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft now has a $5.00 price target on the stock. Burford Capital shares last traded at $4.9050, with a volume of 1,364,178 shares changing hands.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Burford Capital in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Bank of America began coverage on Burford Capital in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Wedbush raised their target price on Burford Capital from $4.75 to $5.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research cut Burford Capital from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Burford Capital

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Burford Capital by 4.8% in the third quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 33,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Burford Capital by 11.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 1,538 shares during the period. GWN Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Burford Capital by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. GWN Securities Inc. now owns 12,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,687 shares during the period. Allegheny Financial Group increased its stake in shares of Burford Capital by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Allegheny Financial Group now owns 14,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 2,227 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Burford Capital by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 36,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 2,371 shares in the last quarter.

Burford Capital Trading Down 3.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.68 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50-day moving average of $6.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.27. The company has a quick ratio of 10.93, a current ratio of 10.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.54). Burford Capital had a return on equity of 10.19% and a net margin of 15.14%.The firm had revenue of $48.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.30 million. Research analysts predict that Burford Capital Limited will post -0.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Burford Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. This represents a yield of 147.0%. Burford Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.44%.

Burford Capital Company Profile

Burford Capital (NYSE: BUR) is a leading global finance firm that specializes in litigation and arbitration funding, risk management, and asset recovery. The company provides capital to law firms and corporate clients to finance legal fees and associated costs in commercial disputes. In exchange for funding, Burford shares in any awards or settlements, enabling clients to pursue meritorious claims without bearing upfront legal expenses.

Founded in 2009 by Christopher Bogart, Burford was among the first firms to establish a dedicated litigation finance business.