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

Burford Capital Limited (NYSE:BUR) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,980,000 shares, a growth of 225.7% from the June 30th total of 2,450,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,480,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.4 days. Approximately 4.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Burford Capital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Burford Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $165,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Burford Capital in the 4th quarter worth about $180,000. Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in Burford Capital in the 1st quarter valued at about $192,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Burford Capital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $238,000. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of Burford Capital in the 1st quarter worth approximately $316,000.

Burford Capital Stock Up 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE:BUR traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $14.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 626,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,414,352. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $13.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.57. Burford Capital has a fifty-two week low of $12.07 and a fifty-two week high of $17.70. The company has a quick ratio of 14.17, a current ratio of 14.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.59). The company had revenue of $44.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $206.00 million. Burford Capital had a return on equity of 10.61% and a net margin of 42.81%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Burford Capital will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $22.50 price target on shares of Burford Capital in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd.

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.