Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY) Short Interest Up 27.7% in September

Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY) was the target of a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,000,000 shares, a growth of 27.7% from the August 31st total of 2,350,000 shares. Approximately 4.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 945,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Berry from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th.

Berry Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BRY traded up $0.18 on Friday, hitting $5.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 934,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,032,243. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.86. The company has a market capitalization of $387.00 million, a PE ratio of 503.00 and a beta of 1.73. Berry has a 1 year low of $4.82 and a 1 year high of $8.91.

Berry (NASDAQ:BRY) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The energy company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $197.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $187.38 million. Berry had a negative net margin of 4.19% and a positive return on equity of 6.69%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.15 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Berry will post 0.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Berry Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.54%. Berry’s payout ratio is 4,800.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Berry news, CEO Fernando Araujo sold 33,950 shares of Berry stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 253,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,573,939.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Berry

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Berry by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 21,514 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $173,000 after buying an additional 1,450 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Berry by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,462 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,747 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Berry by 43.5% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,212 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 2,186 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its position in Berry by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 103,413 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 2,216 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Berry by 16.1% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,664 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 2,999 shares during the last quarter. 94.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Berry

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.