Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) Hits New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Burford Capital Limited (NYSE:BUR) reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $8.75 and last traded at $8.7650, with a volume of 1055179 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.97.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Burford Capital in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Burford Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Burford Capital from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Burford Capital in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Burford Capital in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.00.

Burford Capital Trading Down 1.5%

The company has a current ratio of 10.09, a quick ratio of 10.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a PE ratio of 7.95 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.59.

Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.39). Burford Capital had a return on equity of 7.48% and a net margin of 37.08%.The firm had revenue of $174.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $136.03 million. Analysts anticipate that Burford Capital Limited will post 1.28 EPS for the current year.

Burford Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 4th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 125.0%. Burford Capital’s payout ratio is presently 31.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BUR. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Burford Capital during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Burford Capital by 131.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 2,058 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Burford Capital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $55,000. KBC Group NV purchased a new position in shares of Burford Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at $70,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Burford Capital during the 3rd quarter worth $120,000.

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.