Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Burford Capital Limited (NYSE:BUR) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $11.87 and last traded at $11.61, with a volume of 403887 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.76.

Burford Capital Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $14.24 and a 200 day moving average of $13.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 15.75 and a quick ratio of 15.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.28 and a beta of 0.73.

Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.62). Burford Capital had a return on equity of 8.07% and a net margin of 34.81%. The firm had revenue of $65.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $219.38 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Burford Capital Limited will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Burford Capital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. Burford Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.46%.

Insider Transactions at Burford Capital

In other Burford Capital news, insider David Perla sold 3,000 shares of the 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 $43,830.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 82,489 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,205,164.29. This represents a 3.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Aviva O. Will sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.61, for a total value of $109,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 310,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,543,403.19. This trade represents a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 100,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,468,305 in the last ninety days. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Burford Capital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Burford Capital during the 3rd quarter worth about $57,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Burford Capital by 820.4% during the fourth 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 position in shares of Burford Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $119,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Burford Capital in the fourth quarter worth approximately $132,000. Finally, Mariner LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Burford Capital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $142,000.

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.