Short Interest in Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY) Declines By 13.1%

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

Berry Stock Performance

Shares of BRY stock traded down $0.16 on Friday, reaching $4.28. The stock had a trading volume of 1,335,978 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,066,382. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.11. Berry has a 1 year low of $4.16 and a 1 year high of $8.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $329.30 million, a P/E ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 1.72.

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

Berry Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 25th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Berry’s payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Berry from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th.

Insider Activity at Berry

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Berry

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRY. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Berry by 9.3% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,462 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,747 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Berry by 43.5% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,212 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 2,186 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Berry by 2.2% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 103,413 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $668,000 after buying an additional 2,216 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Berry by 16.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,664 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $175,000 after buying an additional 2,999 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Berry by 14.4% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 24,615 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $159,000 after buying an additional 3,101 shares during the period. 94.88% of the stock is owned by 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.