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

Burford Capital Limited (NYSE:BUR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Friday . The stock traded as low as $11.87 and last traded at $11.61, with a volume of 403887 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $12.76.

Burford Capital Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.11 and a beta of 0.44. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $14.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 15.75 and a quick ratio of 15.75.

Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.62). The business had revenue of $65.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $219.38 million. Burford Capital had a return on equity of 8.07% and a net margin of 34.81%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Burford Capital Limited will post 1.28 EPS for the current year.

Burford Capital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Burford Capital’s payout ratio is 18.46%.

Insider Activity at Burford Capital

In other news, CEO Christopher P. Bogart sold 90,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.61, for a total value of $1,314,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 452,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,606,422.85. This represents a 16.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Aviva O. Will sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.61, for a total transaction of $109,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 310,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,543,403.19. This trade represents a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 100,500 shares of company stock worth $1,468,305. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Burford Capital during the third quarter worth $265,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Burford Capital by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 480,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,369,000 after buying an additional 2,277 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Burford Capital by 2,032.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,284 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,000 after buying an additional 22,192 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Burford Capital by 129.1% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 116,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,539,000 after buying an additional 65,398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Burford Capital in the third quarter valued at $375,000.

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.