Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) Upgraded to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Burford Capital in a report on Monday, December 8th. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 target price (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Burford Capital in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Burford Capital from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Burford Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.00.

Burford Capital Stock Down 1.3%

Burford Capital stock opened at $9.02 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $9.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.94. The company has a quick ratio of 14.99, a current ratio of 14.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.73 and a beta of 0.57. Burford Capital has a twelve month low of $8.19 and a twelve month high of $15.73.

Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.39). The firm had revenue of $69.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $136.03 million. Burford Capital had a net margin of 18.42% and a return on equity of 2.71%. As a group, analysts expect that Burford Capital will post 1.28 EPS for the current year.

Burford Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a yield of 125.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Burford Capital’s payout ratio is 31.58%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Burford Capital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Greenlea Lane Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Burford Capital by 325.4% during the 2nd quarter. Greenlea Lane Capital Management LLC now owns 3,362,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,724,000 after acquiring an additional 2,571,917 shares in the last quarter. Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Burford Capital during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,586,000. Aberdeen Group plc bought a new stake in Burford Capital during the second quarter worth $29,208,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Burford Capital by 58.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 4,976,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,594,000 after purchasing an additional 1,829,585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Seas Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Burford Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at $22,498,000.

About Burford Capital

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.