Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,050,000 shares, a drop of 22.6% from the May 31st total of 3,940,000 shares. Currently, 4.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,090,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, TheStreet raised shares of Berry from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th.

Berry Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BRY traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $6.45. The stock had a trading volume of 529,204 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,070,796. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $7.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.20. Berry has a twelve month low of $6.07 and a twelve month high of $8.94. The firm has a market cap of $496.26 million, a PE ratio of 645.00 and a beta of 1.77.

Berry (NASDAQ:BRY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The energy company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.04). Berry had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 6.15%. The firm had revenue of $202.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.65 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.07 earnings per share. Berry’s revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Berry will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Berry Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.44%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. Berry’s payout ratio is 4,800.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Berry

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Berry by 211.9% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,905 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 2,653 shares in the last quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Berry during the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. AJOVista LLC acquired a new position in shares of Berry during the 4th quarter worth about $58,000. EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Berry during the 1st quarter worth about $111,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Berry during the 4th quarter worth about $105,000. 94.88% of the stock is 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.