Berry (NASDAQ:BRY) Reaches New 1-Year Low at $6.43

Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY – Get Rating)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $6.43 and last traded at $6.50, with a volume of 542708 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $6.57.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on BRY. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Berry from $12.00 to $10.00 in a report on Thursday, May 18th. TheStreet cut Berry from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, March 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Berry from $11.00 to $9.00 in a report on Monday, May 15th.

Berry Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $501.02 million, a P/E ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 2.18. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.27.

Berry (NASDAQ:BRY – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 3rd. The energy company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.04). Berry had a net margin of 27.90% and a return on equity of 24.35%. The business had revenue of $254.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Berry Co. will post 0.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Berry Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 25th. Investors of record on Monday, May 15th were given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 12th. Berry’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.04%.

Insider Activity at Berry

In related news, Chairman Arthur T. Smith sold 100,000 shares of Berry stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.26, for a total value of $726,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 565,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,108,463.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Berry news, President Danielle E. Hunter sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.26, for a total transaction of $247,800.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 188,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,559,132.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Arthur T. Smith sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.26, for a total value of $726,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 565,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,108,463.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 230,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,794,800. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BRY. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Berry by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,586 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,177 shares during the period. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY boosted its stake in Berry by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 4,844 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,257 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its position in shares of Berry by 41.6% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 4,554 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,338 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Berry by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 130,780 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after acquiring an additional 1,795 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Berry by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,759 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 2,115 shares during the period. 97.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Berry

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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.