Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Burford Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $5.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Burford Capital from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Burford Capital from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Burford Capital in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Burford Capital from $4.75 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Burford Capital has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.33.

Burford Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BUR opened at $4.42 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $970.54 million, a PE ratio of -0.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.05 and a beta of 1.25. Burford Capital has a fifty-two week low of $3.59 and a fifty-two week high of $14.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 9.56 and a current ratio of 9.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $4.26 and a 200-day moving average of $5.94.

Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $110.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $103.08 million. Burford Capital had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 10.24%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Burford Capital will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Burford Capital

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BUR. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd boosted its position in shares of Burford Capital by 31.1% during the 4th quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 12,051,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,500,000 after acquiring an additional 2,859,722 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Burford Capital by 2.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 9,418,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,170,000 after purchasing an additional 229,979 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Burford Capital by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,779,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,471,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346,663 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP increased its position in shares of Burford Capital by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 5,194,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,335,000 after purchasing an additional 1,228,328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenlea Lane Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Burford Capital by 325.4% in the second quarter. Greenlea Lane Capital Management LLC now owns 3,362,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,724,000 after purchasing an additional 2,571,917 shares in the last quarter.

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.