Wall Street Zen Downgrades Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) to Sell

Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

BUR has been the topic of a number of other reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Burford Capital from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Burford Capital in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Burford Capital in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.00.

Burford Capital Stock Performance

BUR stock opened at $9.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.93, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 0.57. Burford Capital has a twelve month low of $8.19 and a twelve month high of $15.73. The company has a quick ratio of 14.99, a current ratio of 14.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.77.

Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.39). Burford Capital had a return on equity of 2.71% and a net margin of 18.42%.The company had revenue of $69.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $136.03 million. Analysts predict that Burford Capital will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Burford Capital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Greenlea Lane Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Burford Capital by 325.4% in the second quarter. Greenlea Lane Capital Management LLC now owns 3,362,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,724,000 after acquiring an additional 2,571,917 shares in the last quarter. Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Burford Capital during the 1st quarter valued at $32,586,000. Aberdeen Group plc acquired a new stake in shares of Burford Capital in the 2nd quarter worth $29,208,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in Burford Capital by 58.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 4,976,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,594,000 after buying an additional 1,829,585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Seas Capital LP acquired a new position in Burford Capital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $22,498,000.

About Burford Capital

Burford Capital (NYSE: BUR) is a leading global finance firm that specializes in litigation and arbitration funding, risk management, and asset recovery. The company provides capital to law firms and corporate clients to finance legal fees and associated costs in commercial disputes. In exchange for funding, Burford shares in any awards or settlements, enabling clients to pursue meritorious claims without bearing upfront legal expenses.

Founded in 2009 by Christopher Bogart, Burford was among the first firms to establish a dedicated litigation finance business.