Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Burford Capital has been downgraded from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen.
• Meanwhile, Wedbush has upgraded Burford Capital to an "outperform" rating with a price target of $18.00.
• Insider trading shows significant sales, with the CEO and president selling a combined total of 444,500 shares in the last 90 days.

Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

Separately, Wedbush raised Burford Capital to an "outperform" rating and set a $18.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th.

Burford Capital Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of NYSE:BUR traded down $0.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $13.58. 617,529 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,358,351. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $13.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.59. Burford Capital has a 1-year low of $10.70 and a 1-year high of $15.73. The firm has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.55 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 10.09 and a quick ratio of 10.09.

Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $191.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $159.02 million. Burford Capital had a return on equity of 7.48% and a net margin of 37.08%. Research analysts anticipate that Burford Capital will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Burford Capital

In other news, President Aviva O. Will sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.60, for a total transaction of $255,500.00. Following the transaction, the president owned 293,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,284,793.40. This trade represents a 5.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider David Perla sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.60, for a total transaction of $102,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 80,172 shares in the company, valued at $1,170,511.20. The trade was a 8.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 444,500 shares of company stock valued at $6,489,700 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 8.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BUR. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in Burford Capital in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. CWM LLC increased its position in Burford Capital by 131.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,625 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 2,058 shares during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Burford Capital in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $55,000. KBC Group NV bought a new stake in shares of Burford Capital during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Burford Capital by 820.4% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 6,314 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 5,628 shares during the last quarter.

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.