Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Burford Capital shares gapped down after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded the stock from buy to hold and set a $5.00 price target. The stock opened below its prior close and was last trading around $4.91.
• Analyst sentiment on BUR is mixed, with recent actions including a Wedbush target increase to $5.00, a Zacks downgrade to strong sell, and Bank of America initiating coverage with a buy rating. Overall, MarketBeat data shows an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $9.33.
• The company recently reported a miss on earnings and revenue, posting an EPS loss of $0.17 versus expectations for a profit and revenue far below estimates. Burford also announced a dividend of $0.0625 per share, payable June 12, with an unusually high stated yield.

Burford Capital Limited (NYSE:BUR - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Monday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The stock had previously closed at $5.14, but opened at $4.93. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft now has a $5.00 price target on the stock. Burford Capital shares last traded at $4.9050, with a volume of 1,364,178 shares trading hands.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on BUR. Wedbush increased their price target on Burford Capital from $4.75 to $5.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Zacks Research downgraded Burford Capital from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Bank of America initiated coverage on Burford Capital in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Burford Capital in a report on Friday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Burford Capital presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $9.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Burford Capital by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 33,158 shares of the company's stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 1,514 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Burford Capital by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,003 shares of the company's stock worth $179,000 after buying an additional 1,538 shares during the last quarter. GWN Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Burford Capital by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. GWN Securities Inc. now owns 12,697 shares of the company's stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 1,687 shares during the last quarter. Allegheny Financial Group lifted its holdings in Burford Capital by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Allegheny Financial Group now owns 14,787 shares of the company's stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 2,227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Burford Capital by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 36,783 shares of the company's stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 2,371 shares during the last quarter.

Burford Capital Trading Down 3.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 10.93 and a current ratio of 10.93. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.27. The company has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -0.68 and a beta of 1.28.

Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.54). The company had revenue of $48.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.30 million. Burford Capital had a return on equity of 10.19% and a net margin of 15.14%. Analysts anticipate that Burford Capital Limited will post -0.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Burford Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 147.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. Burford Capital's dividend payout ratio 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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