Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) Shares Down 6.5% – What’s Next?

Burford Capital Limited (NYSE:BUR)’s share price fell 6.5% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $4.22 and last traded at $4.2250. 5,585,271 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 82% from the average session volume of 3,075,446 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Burford Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Burford Capital in a report on Friday. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $4.75 target price (down from $6.00) on shares of Burford Capital in a research report on Monday. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Burford Capital in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Burford Capital from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.00.

Burford Capital Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $8.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.55. The firm has a market cap of $913.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.10 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 10.93 and a quick ratio of 10.93.

Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.54). Burford Capital had a return on equity of 1.97% 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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Burford Capital Limited will post 1.28 EPS for the current year.

Burford Capital Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Burford Capital

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Burford Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at $8,113,000. Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its position in shares of Burford Capital by 58.2% in the third quarter. Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 4,044,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,378,000 after buying an additional 1,488,250 shares during the period. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Burford Capital during the third quarter valued at $2,153,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Burford Capital by 29.4% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,060,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,118,000 after buying an additional 240,738 shares during the period. Finally, Onex Canada Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Burford Capital by 15.2% during the third quarter. Onex Canada Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,306,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,631,000 after buying an additional 172,152 shares during the period.

About Burford Capital

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.