Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Sells 272,411 Shares of Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lowered its position in shares of Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY - Free Report) by 78.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 73,429 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 272,411 shares during the quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned 0.10% of Berry worth $303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in BRY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Berry by 1.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 269,502 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $1,385,000 after acquiring an additional 4,686 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in shares of Berry by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 102,185 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $422,000 after acquiring an additional 23,266 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Berry by 54.2% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 41,475 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $171,000 after buying an additional 14,579 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Berry in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management increased its stake 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 buying an additional 8,261 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.88% of the company's stock.

Berry Price Performance

Berry stock remained flat at $2.49 during trading hours on Friday. 1,040,538 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,101,823. The firm has a market capitalization of $193.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.15. 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 company's fifty day moving average is $2.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.70. Berry Co. has a 1 year low of $2.11 and a 1 year high of $7.05.

Berry (NASDAQ:BRY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The energy company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $182.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $177.00 million. Berry had a net margin of 9.40% and a return on equity of 6.50%. Analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Berry's dividend payout ratio is -25.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.