Ameriprise Financial Inc. Sells 182,497 Shares of Burford Capital Limited $BUR

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. has reduced its stake in Burford Capital Limited by 1.9%, selling 182,497 shares and now owning around 9.47 million shares, worth approximately $119.5 million.
• Burford Capital reported a 12.94 PE ratio and a net margin of 37.08% during its last quarterly earnings, exceeding analysts' revenue expectations with $191.29 million.
• Despite the reduction in Ameriprise's holdings, Burford Capital's stock has increased by 2.8% recently, and Wall Street analysts maintain an average rating of "Buy" with a target price of $18.00.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lessened its stake in Burford Capital Limited (NYSE:BUR - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,471,310 shares of the company's stock after selling 182,497 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 4.32% of Burford Capital worth $119,501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd grew its stake in Burford Capital by 149.9% in the 4th quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd now owns 112,200 shares of the company's stock worth $1,431,000 after acquiring an additional 67,300 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Burford Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $273,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in shares of Burford Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $335,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in Burford Capital in the first quarter worth approximately $284,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Burford Capital by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,527,180 shares of the company's stock worth $59,804,000 after purchasing an additional 34,228 shares during the period.

Burford Capital Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of NYSE BUR opened at $13.9750 on Monday. 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 capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 0.65. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $13.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.55. Burford Capital Limited has a 12-month low of $10.70 and a 12-month high of $15.73.

Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.39 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $191.29 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.02 million. As a group, analysts expect that Burford Capital Limited will post 1.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BUR. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Burford Capital in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Burford Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.00.

Insider Activity

In other Burford Capital news, CEO Christopher P. Bogart sold 210,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 278,862 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,071,385.20. This represents a 42.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider David Perla sold 7,000 shares of Burford Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.60, for a total transaction of $102,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 80,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,170,511.20. The trade was a 8.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 444,500 shares of company stock valued at $6,489,700. Company insiders own 8.90% of the company's stock.

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.

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