Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY) Short Interest Update

Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,380,000 shares, a decline of 13.1% from the October 15th total of 2,740,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,150,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days. Approximately 3.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Berry from $7.00 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday.

Berry Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BRY traded up $0.12 during trading on Monday, hitting $4.40. 1,121,970 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,066,631. Berry has a 1-year low of $4.16 and a 1-year high of $8.88. The company has a market capitalization of $338.54 million, a P/E ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The business’s 50 day moving average is $5.16 and its 200-day moving average is $6.08.

Berry (NASDAQ:BRY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The energy company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $259.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.67 million. Berry had a return on equity of 6.50% and a net margin of 9.40%. The company’s revenue was up 31.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.15 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Berry will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Berry Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Berry’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.44%.

Insider Transactions at Berry

In related news, CEO Fernando Araujo sold 33,950 shares of Berry stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.22, for a total transaction of $211,169.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 253,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,573,939.90. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Berry

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Berry by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,903,951 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $9,788,000 after acquiring an additional 176,280 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Berry by 155.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 200,120 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 121,693 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its position in shares of Berry by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 119,153 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $612,000 after purchasing an additional 13,617 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Berry in the 3rd quarter valued at about $106,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in Berry by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,001,229 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $15,426,000 after buying an additional 25,108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.88% of the company’s stock.

Berry Company Profile

Berry Petroleum Company, LLC., formerly Berry Petroleum Company, is an independent energy company. The Company is engaged in the production, development, exploitation, and acquisition of oil and natural gas. The Company’s principal reserves and producing properties are located in California (South Midway-Sunset (SMWSS)-Steam Floods, North Midway-Sunset (NMWSS)-Diatomite, NMWSS-New Steam Floods, Texas (Permian and E.