Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

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 note issued to investors on Friday.

Separately, Wedbush raised shares of Burford Capital to an "outperform" rating and set a $18.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 11th.

Burford Capital Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of BUR stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $13.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,136,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,056,290. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $13.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.58. Burford Capital has a 12-month low of $10.70 and a 12-month high of $15.73. The company has a quick ratio of 13.27, a current ratio of 13.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 15.03 and a beta of 0.67.

Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $118.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $157.00 million. Burford Capital had a return on equity of 6.41% and a net margin of 33.41%. On average, research analysts predict that Burford Capital will post 1.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Burford Capital

In other Burford Capital news, President Aviva O. Will sold 17,500 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 293,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,284,793.40. The trade was a 5.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CIO Jonathan Todd Molot sold 210,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.60, for a total transaction of $3,066,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive directly owned 3,406,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at $49,736,725. The trade was a 5.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 444,500 shares of company stock valued at $6,489,700. Corporate insiders own 8.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in Burford Capital in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Strs Ohio bought a new position in Burford Capital during the 1st quarter valued at about $55,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in Burford Capital by 109.3% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 9,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 4,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Burford Capital in the 1st quarter valued at about $132,000.

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.