Burford Capital Limited (NYSE:BUR) Short Interest Down 5.5% in August

Burford Capital Limited (NYSE:BUR) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,030,000 shares, a drop of 5.5% from the August 15th total of 7,440,000 shares. Currently, 3.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,300,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.4 days.

Burford Capital Stock Performance

Burford Capital stock opened at $13.44 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 11.01 and a current ratio of 11.01. The stock has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.40 and a beta of 0.53. Burford Capital has a fifty-two week low of $12.07 and a fifty-two week high of $16.77.

Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $159.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $153.00 million. Burford Capital had a net margin of 45.81% and a return on equity of 12.58%. As a group, analysts expect that Burford Capital will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Burford Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.063 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. Burford Capital’s payout ratio is 8.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BUR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Burford Capital in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Burford Capital in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $22.50 price objective on shares of Burford Capital in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Burford Capital

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BUR. Clearline Capital LP purchased a new position in Burford Capital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,275,000. Annandale Capital LLC raised its holdings in Burford Capital by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. Annandale Capital LLC now owns 156,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,045,000 after acquiring an additional 16,700 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Burford Capital by 456.9% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 91,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,196,000 after purchasing an additional 75,402 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Burford Capital by 57.5% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,050,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,712,000 after purchasing an additional 383,577 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. bought a new stake in Burford Capital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $166,000.

Burford Capital Company Profile

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.