Burford Capital Limited (NYSE:BUR) Short Interest Update

Burford Capital Limited (NYSE:BUR) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,140,000 shares, a growth of 8.6% from the March 15th total of 1,050,000 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 760,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Burford Capital Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE BUR traded up $0.12 on Wednesday, hitting $14.96. 1,603,504 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,160,692. Burford Capital has a 1-year low of $11.78 and a 1-year high of $17.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $15.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.27. The company has a quick ratio of 9.53, a current ratio of 9.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $292.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $142.00 million. Burford Capital had a return on equity of 20.99% and a net margin of 56.17%. On average, research analysts expect that Burford Capital will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Burford Capital Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.063 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd. This is a positive change from Burford Capital’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.06. Burford Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 4.38%.

Institutional Trading of Burford Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BUR. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in Burford Capital by 273,700.0% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 2,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 2,737 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Burford Capital during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Burford Capital during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Burford Capital by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 794 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Burford Capital by 75.9% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 7,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 3,144 shares in the last quarter.

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.