Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) Shares Down 6.7% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Burford Capital's stock experienced a significant drop of 6.7%, closing at $12.68 after hitting a low of $13.51, with trading volume down 62% from its average.
• Analyst ratings shifted recently, with Wall Street Zen downgrading the stock from "buy" to "hold," while Wedbush maintained an "outperform" rating and set a price target of $18.00.
• The company reported earnings per share of $0.39, surpassing expectations, with revenue of $191.29 million, exceeding the forecast of $159.02 million for the latest quarter.

Burford Capital Limited (NYSE:BUR - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 6.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $13.51 and last traded at $12.68. Approximately 515,355 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 1,359,124 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.58.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BUR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Burford Capital in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Burford Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.00.

Burford Capital Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of 12.81 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $191.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $159.02 million. Burford Capital had a net margin of 37.08% and a return on equity of 7.48%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Burford Capital Limited will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Burford Capital

In other news, insider David Perla sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.60, for a total value of $102,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 80,172 shares in the company, valued at $1,170,511.20. This represents a 8.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CIO Jonathan Todd Molot sold 210,000 shares of Burford Capital stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.60, for a total value of $3,066,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive owned 3,406,625 shares in the company, valued at $49,736,725. This trade represents a 5.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 444,500 shares of company stock worth $6,489,700. 8.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BUR. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in Burford Capital during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,058 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Burford Capital during the first quarter worth about $55,000. KBC Group NV bought a new stake in Burford Capital during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Burford Capital by 820.4% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 6,314 shares of the company's stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 5,628 shares in the last quarter.

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.