Burford Capital Limited (NYSE:BUR) Shares Sold by Baillie Gifford & Co.

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford & Co. reduced its stake in Burford Capital by 36.4%, selling 541,453 shares in the first quarter, leaving the institutional investor with 946,037 shares valued at approximately $12.48 million.
• Burford Capital reported $0.14 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30, with revenues of $118.86 million compared to an expected $157 million.
• Insider transactions included CEO Christopher P. Bogart selling 210,000 shares, marking a 42.96% decrease in his ownership, as part of over 444,500 shares sold by insiders in the last quarter.

Baillie Gifford & Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Burford Capital Limited (NYSE:BUR - Free Report) by 36.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 946,037 shares of the company's stock after selling 541,453 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned about 0.43% of Burford Capital worth $12,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in Burford Capital by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 14,381 shares of the company's stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,272 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Burford Capital by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 44,938 shares of the company's stock valued at $573,000 after acquiring an additional 7,158 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Burford Capital by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 76,358 shares of the company's stock worth $974,000 after buying an additional 2,307 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Burford Capital by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,429,089 shares of the company's stock worth $18,243,000 after buying an additional 63,346 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Burford Capital by 96.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 549,355 shares of the company's stock worth $7,004,000 after acquiring an additional 269,928 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Burford Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Wedbush raised shares of Burford Capital to an "outperform" rating and set a $18.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 11th.

Burford Capital Stock Performance

Shares of Burford Capital stock traded up $0.07 on Wednesday, hitting $13.17. 340,359 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,365,150. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 13.27 and a current ratio of 13.27. Burford Capital Limited has a 1 year low of $10.70 and a 1 year high of $15.73. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a PE ratio of 14.18 and a beta of 0.67.

Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.16). Burford Capital had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 6.41%. The firm had revenue of $118.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $157.00 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Burford Capital Limited will post 1.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CIO Jonathan Todd Molot sold 210,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 3,406,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $49,736,725. This trade represents a 5.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, President Aviva O. Will sold 17,500 shares of Burford Capital stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.60, for a total transaction of $255,500.00. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 293,479 shares in the company, valued at $4,284,793.40. This trade represents a 5.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 444,500 shares of company stock worth $6,489,700 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 8.90% of the company's stock.

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.