Berry (NASDAQ:BRY) Given New $5.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

Berry (NASDAQ:BRY) had its price target cut by Piper Sandler from $7.00 to $5.00 in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the energy company’s stock.

Berry Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of BRY opened at $4.37 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $336.23 million, a P/E ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 1.72. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Berry has a 1 year low of $4.16 and a 1 year high of $8.88.

Berry (NASDAQ:BRY) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $259.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.15 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Berry will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Berry Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 25th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Berry’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.44%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Fernando Araujo sold 33,950 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 253,045 shares in the company, valued at $1,573,939.90. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Berry

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Berry by 228.7% during the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 190,544 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,231,000 after acquiring an additional 132,568 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Berry by 36.9% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,323,216 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $10,652,000 after purchasing an additional 356,525 shares in the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Berry in the second quarter worth $5,636,000. Meros Investment Management LP raised its holdings in Berry by 14.5% in the second quarter. Meros Investment Management LP now owns 1,326,707 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $8,571,000 after purchasing an additional 167,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Berry in the second quarter worth $1,736,000. 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.