Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) Downgraded to “Strong Sell” Rating by Zacks Research

Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Burford Capital in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Burford Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $5.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Burford Capital from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Burford Capital in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on Burford Capital from $4.75 to $5.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.33.

Burford Capital Stock Performance

Shares of BUR opened at $4.33 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.86. The company has a quick ratio of 9.56, a current ratio of 9.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a market capitalization of $951.88 million, a PE ratio of -0.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.05 and a beta of 1.25. Burford Capital has a 52-week low of $3.59 and a 52-week high of $14.14.

Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.07). Burford Capital had a return on equity of 10.24% and a net margin of 15.14%.The company had revenue of $110.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $103.08 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.39 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Burford Capital will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BUR. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its position in shares of Burford Capital by 64.5% during the 2nd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 41,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 16,135 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in Burford Capital by 16.7% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 334,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,510,000 after buying an additional 47,797 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Burford Capital by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 761,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,442,000 after buying an additional 42,951 shares during the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia increased its position in Burford Capital by 2.7% during the first quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 108,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $491,000 after buying an additional 2,874 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Burford Capital by 15.2% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 958,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,332,000 after buying an additional 126,500 shares in the last quarter.

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.