Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,120,000 shares, an increase of 21.8% from the March 31st total of 1,740,000 shares. Currently, 2.8% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 974,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. US Bancorp DE purchased a new position in shares of Berry during the first quarter worth approximately $71,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Berry by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 157,228 shares of the energy company's stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 22,323 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in Berry by 51.1% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 16,398 shares of the energy company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 5,547 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in Berry in the first quarter valued at $73,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Berry by 41.2% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 734,297 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $2,357,000 after buying an additional 214,344 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.88% of the company's stock.

Berry Stock Up 17.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ BRY traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $2.82. 1,708,292 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,120,619. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $2.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.90. The company has a market cap of $218.43 million, a PE ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.15. Berry has a twelve month low of $2.11 and a twelve month high of $7.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Berry (NASDAQ:BRY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The energy company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.02). Berry had a return on equity of 6.50% and a net margin of 9.40%. Research analysts predict that Berry will post 0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Berry Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Saturday, March 22nd were given a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 21st. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.26%. Berry's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.00%.

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.