Burford Capital Limited (NYSE:BUR) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest surged 28.2% to 11,264,629 shares as of March 31, equal to 5.6% of shares outstanding and a days-to-cover ratio of 1.4.
• Analysts are divided — MarketBeat shows a consensus "Hold" with a $12 target, while recent notes include Wedbush cutting its price objective to $4.75 and a mix of Buy and Sell ratings from other firms.
• EPS miss: Burford reported –$0.17 EPS (vs. $0.37 expected) and revenue of $48.78M (vs. $168.3M expected), and announced a $0.0625 dividend payable June 12 with an ex-dividend date of May 22 (MarketBeat-reported yield 147%).

Burford Capital Limited (NYSE:BUR - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 11,264,629 shares, a growth of 28.2% from the March 15th total of 8,785,246 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 8,025,193 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days. Currently, 5.6% of the company's shares are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Burford Capital

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BUR. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Burford Capital by 1,687.7% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,914 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 2,751 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Burford Capital during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Burford Capital during the 1st quarter valued at about $55,000. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Burford Capital during the 4th quarter valued at about $93,000. Finally, Equitable Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Burford Capital during the 4th quarter valued at about $94,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on BUR shares. Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $4.75 price objective (down from $6.00) on shares of Burford Capital in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Burford Capital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, December 21st. Bank of America started coverage on Burford Capital in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Zacks Research lowered Burford Capital from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Burford Capital in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Burford Capital currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $12.00.

Burford Capital Price Performance

BUR opened at $4.74 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $7.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 10.93 and a quick ratio of 10.93. The firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 17.54 and a beta of 1.29. Burford Capital has a 1 year low of $3.59 and a 1 year high of $15.10.

Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.17) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.54). Burford Capital had a return on equity of 1.97% and a net margin of 15.14%.The business had revenue of $48.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.30 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Burford Capital will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Burford Capital Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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