Short Interest in Burford Capital Limited (NYSE:BUR) Expands By 26.8%

Burford Capital Limited (NYSE:BUR) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,670,000 shares, a growth of 26.8% from the October 15th total of 6,050,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 553,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 13.9 days. Currently, 4.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Burford Capital

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BUR. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Burford Capital by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,946,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,076,000 after purchasing an additional 582,514 shares during the period. Michelson Medical Research Foundation Inc. increased its holdings in Burford Capital by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Michelson Medical Research Foundation Inc. now owns 180,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,387,000 after purchasing an additional 60,000 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Burford Capital by 15.7% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 314,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,154,000 after purchasing an additional 42,699 shares during the last quarter. Claar Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Burford Capital by 22.7% in the third quarter. Claar Advisors LLC now owns 595,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,896,000 after buying an additional 110,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Burford Capital in the third quarter valued at about $375,000.

Burford Capital Price Performance

NYSE:BUR traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $13.19. 806,908 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 965,528. The company has a current ratio of 15.75, a quick ratio of 15.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Burford Capital has a one year low of $12.07 and a one year high of $16.77. The company has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $13.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.64.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BUR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Burford Capital in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Burford Capital in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $18.00 price target for the company.

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.