Burford Capital Limited (NYSE:BUR) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Burford Capital Limited (NYSE:BUR) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,130,000 shares, a growth of 39.5% from the February 28th total of 2,960,000 shares. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 914,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.5 days.

Burford Capital Price Performance

Shares of BUR stock traded down $0.26 on Friday, reaching $13.48. 1,137,372 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 983,320. The company has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.62 and a beta of 0.44. Burford Capital has a 1 year low of $12.07 and a 1 year high of $16.77. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $14.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 15.75 and a current ratio of 15.75.

Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.62). The business had revenue of $65.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $219.38 million. Burford Capital had a net margin of 34.81% and a return on equity of 8.07%. Equities research analysts forecast that Burford Capital will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Burford Capital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Burford Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider David Perla sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.61, for a total transaction of $43,830.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 82,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,205,164.29. This trade represents a 3.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Aviva O. Will sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.61, for a total transaction of $109,575.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 310,979 shares in the company, valued at $4,543,403.19. The trade was a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 100,500 shares of company stock worth $1,468,305 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Burford Capital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Burford Capital during the third quarter worth $57,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Burford Capital by 820.4% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 6,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 5,628 shares during the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Burford Capital in the fourth quarter valued at about $119,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Burford Capital in the fourth quarter valued at about $132,000. Finally, Mariner LLC acquired a new stake in Burford Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $142,000.

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.