Ameriprise Financial Inc. Has $898,000 Stock Holdings in Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. reduced its position in Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY - Free Report) by 52.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 217,363 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 239,221 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.28% of Berry worth $898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in Berry by 357.5% in the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 187,655 shares of the energy company's stock worth $775,000 after purchasing an additional 146,634 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Berry by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,101,825 shares of the energy company's stock worth $8,681,000 after purchasing an additional 214,580 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Berry by 91.0% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 514,718 shares of the energy company's stock worth $2,126,000 after purchasing an additional 245,216 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in Berry by 59.7% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 69,036 shares of the energy company's stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 25,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in Berry by 36.3% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 272,686 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,126,000 after acquiring an additional 72,566 shares in the last quarter. 94.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Berry Price Performance

Berry stock traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $2.61. 1,088,543 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,097,603. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The business has a fifty day moving average of $2.59 and a 200 day moving average of $3.59. Berry Co. has a 1-year low of $2.11 and a 1-year high of $7.02. The company has a market capitalization of $202.53 million, a PE ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.15.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.02. Berry had a return on equity of 6.50% and a net margin of 9.40%. The firm had revenue of $182.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $177.00 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Berry Co. will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Berry Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.60%. Berry's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -25.53%.

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.