Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Burford Capital Limited (NYSE:BUR) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $8.75 and last traded at $8.7650, with a volume of 1055179 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.97.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BUR shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Burford Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Burford Capital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Burford Capital in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Burford Capital in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Burford Capital from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.00.

Burford Capital Trading Down 2.6%

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.12 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 10.09 and a current ratio of 10.09.

Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.39). Burford Capital had a net margin of 37.08% and a return on equity of 7.48%. The firm had revenue of $174.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $136.03 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Burford Capital Limited will post 1.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Burford Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a yield of 125.0%. Burford Capital’s payout ratio is presently 31.58%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Burford Capital

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aberdeen Group plc bought a new stake in shares of Burford Capital in the second quarter worth $29,208,000. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd increased its stake in shares of Burford Capital by 400.0% in the second quarter. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd now owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,426,000 after buying an additional 80,000 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Burford Capital during the first quarter worth about $284,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Burford Capital by 0.8% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,527,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,804,000 after acquiring an additional 34,228 shares during the period. Finally, Empyrean Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in Burford Capital in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,491,000.

Burford Capital Company Profile

Burford Capital Limited provides legal finance products and services worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Capital Provision, and Asset Management and Other Provision. The Capital Provision segment provides capital to the legal industry or in connection with legal matters directly and through investment in private funds; legal risk management services; lower risk legal finance business focusing on pre-settlement litigation matters with lower risk and lower expected returns; post-settlement finance; and complex strategies in which it acts as a principal and acquires assets that are mispriced.