Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) Shares Down 6.7% - Here's What Happened

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.

Shares of Burford Capital Limited (NYSE:BUR - Get Free Report) were down 6.7% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $13.51 and last traded at $12.68. Approximately 515,355 shares traded 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BUR shares. Wall Street Zen cut Burford Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Burford Capital in a research note on Thursday.

Burford Capital Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 10.09, a quick ratio of 10.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a fifty day moving average of $13.15 and a 200-day moving average of $13.59.

Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $191.29 million during 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Burford Capital Limited will post 1.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Burford Capital

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Burford Capital during the 1st quarter valued at $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 buying an additional 2,058 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Burford Capital during the first quarter worth $55,000. KBC Group NV acquired a new position in Burford Capital during the second quarter worth $70,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in Burford Capital by 820.4% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 6,314 shares of the company's stock worth $81,000 after buying 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.

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