Burford Capital Limited (NYSE:BUR) Receives $12.00 Average Price Target from Analysts

Burford Capital Limited (NYSE:BUR) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $12.00.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BUR. Zacks Research lowered Burford Capital from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Burford Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 21st. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $4.75 price target (down from $6.00) on shares of Burford Capital in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Burford Capital in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Burford Capital in a research note on Friday, March 27th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in Burford Capital by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 2,357,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,027,000 after buying an additional 497,780 shares during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Burford Capital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $8,113,000. Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. grew its stake in Burford Capital by 58.2% during the 3rd quarter. Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 4,044,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,378,000 after buying an additional 1,488,250 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Burford Capital by 3,454.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 874,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,798,000 after buying an additional 849,665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new position in Burford Capital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,153,000.

Burford Capital Stock Performance

NYSE BUR opened at $4.36 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 10.93 and a current ratio of 10.93. Burford Capital has a fifty-two week low of $3.59 and a fifty-two week high of $15.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $953.75 million, a P/E ratio of 16.14 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $7.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.10.

Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.54). Burford Capital had a return on equity of 1.97% and a net margin of 15.14%.The business had revenue of $48.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.30 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Burford Capital will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Burford Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a yield of 147.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. Burford Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.44%.

Burford Capital Company Profile

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.