Empyrean Capital Partners LP Makes New Investment in Burford Capital Limited $BUR

Key Points

• Empyrean Capital Partners LP acquired 340,000 shares of Burford Capital Limited, valued at approximately $4,491,000, representing 0.16% ownership by the end of the last quarter.
• Burford Capital recently reported earnings of $0.39 per share, surpassing expectations, with a revenue of $191.29 million against an estimated $159.02 million for the quarter.
• Analyst ratings for Burford Capital show a consensus "Buy" rating with a price target of $18.00, although Wedbush and Wall Street Zen have differing viewpoints on the stock's performance.

Empyrean Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Burford Capital Limited (NYSE:BUR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 340,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,491,000. Empyrean Capital Partners LP owned approximately 0.16% of Burford Capital as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BUR. Mariner LLC bought a new stake in shares of Burford Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $142,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Burford Capital by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 79,499 shares of the company's stock worth $1,014,000 after buying an additional 14,107 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new stake in Burford Capital during the fourth quarter worth $1,398,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Burford Capital by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 91,025 shares of the company's stock worth $1,166,000 after buying an additional 676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Burford Capital by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,256,636 shares of the company's stock worth $16,022,000 after buying an additional 67,929 shares in the last quarter.

Burford Capital Stock Performance

BUR stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $13.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 898,984 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,424,897. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $13.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.48. The company has a quick ratio of 10.09, a current ratio of 10.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Burford Capital Limited has a 1 year low of $10.70 and a 1 year high of $15.73. The stock has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31 and a beta of 0.66.

Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Burford Capital had a return on equity of 7.48% and a net margin of 37.08%.The business had revenue of $191.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $159.02 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Burford Capital Limited will post 1.28 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BUR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Burford Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 10th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Burford Capital in a report on Thursday, August 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $18.00.

Insider Transactions at Burford Capital

In other news, CIO Jonathan Todd Molot sold 210,000 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 transaction of $3,066,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive owned 3,406,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at $49,736,725. This represents a 5.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider David Perla sold 7,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider owned 80,172 shares of the company's stock, 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 444,500 shares of company stock worth $6,489,700 over the last quarter. 8.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.