Short Interest in Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY) Rises By 27.7%

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Berry Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of BRY stock traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $5.03. The company 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 market cap of $387.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 503.00 and a beta of 1.73. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.86. Berry has a 12 month low of $4.82 and a 12 month high of $8.91.

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

Berry Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. Berry’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4,800.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Berry

In related news, CEO Fernando Araujo sold 33,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 253,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,573,939.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Berry

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in Berry in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Berry in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Berry by 287.4% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,560 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 3,383 shares during the period. Viking Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Berry in the first quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 2,186 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.88% of the company’s stock.

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.