Orbis Allan Gray Ltd Acquires 677,271 Shares of Burford Capital Limited $BUR

Key Points

• Orbis Allan Gray Ltd increased its stake in Burford Capital Limited by 10.3% during the first quarter, owning approximately 3.31% of the company worth $95.6 million.
• Burford Capital reported $0.39 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue of $191.29 million.
• Several analysts have given Burford Capital an average rating of "Buy" and set a target price of $18.00 per share.

Orbis Allan Gray Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Burford Capital Limited (NYSE:BUR - Free Report) by 10.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,235,504 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 677,271 shares during the quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd owned 3.31% of Burford Capital worth $95,581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BUR. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Burford Capital during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Burford Capital by 109.3% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 9,000 shares of the company's stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 4,700 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Burford Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $132,000. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Burford Capital during the first quarter worth about $132,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Burford Capital during the first quarter worth about $134,000.

Burford Capital Trading Down 4.5%

BUR stock traded down $0.63 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $13.19. The company had a trading volume of 2,355,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,379,995. The company has a current ratio of 10.09, a quick ratio of 10.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Burford Capital Limited has a 52 week low of $10.70 and a 52 week high of $15.73. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $13.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.51. The stock has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 0.66.

Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $159.02 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Burford Capital Limited will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BUR has been the subject of several research reports. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Burford Capital in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Burford Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $18.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Burford Capital news, insider David Perla sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 80,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Aviva O. Will sold 17,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.60, for a total value of $255,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 293,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,284,793.40. The trade was a 5.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 444,500 shares of company stock worth $6,489,700. Company insiders own 8.90% of the company's stock.

Burford Capital 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.