298,803 Shares in Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY) Acquired by Man Group plc

Man Group plc bought a new position in shares of Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 298,803 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $1,234,000. Man Group plc owned about 0.39% of Berry at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Berry during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Berry by 54.9% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,114 shares of the energy company's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 4,294 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management raised its holdings in Berry by 149.7% in the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 13,780 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 8,261 shares during the last quarter. RPO LLC purchased a new position in shares of Berry during the 4th quarter worth $62,000. Finally, AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Berry during the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.88% of the company's stock.

Berry Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:BRY traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $2.51. 211,346 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,005,069. Berry Co. has a 52-week low of $2.11 and a 52-week high of $7.02. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.65. The firm has a market cap of $194.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.15. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The energy company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $182.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $177.00 million. Berry had a return on equity of 6.50% and a net margin of 9.40%. As a group, analysts predict that Berry Co. will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

Berry Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.79%. Berry's payout ratio is -25.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Johnson Rice upgraded Berry from an "accumulate" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st.

Berry Profile

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.