Millennium Management LLC Buys 510,512 Shares of Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY)

Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY - Free Report) by 130.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 902,743 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 510,512 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned 1.17% of Berry worth $3,728,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BRY. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Berry by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 28,183 shares of the energy company's stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 3,714 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Berry by 54.9% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,114 shares of the energy company's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 4,294 shares during the last quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Berry by 25.1% in the fourth quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 32,690 shares of the energy company's stock worth $135,000 after buying an additional 6,563 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Berry in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Comerica Bank increased its holdings in Berry by 30.1% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 31,223 shares of the energy company's stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 7,219 shares during the last quarter. 94.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Berry Stock Performance

Shares of BRY traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $2.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 943,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,096,281. Berry Co. has a one year low of $2.11 and a one year high of $7.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $187.01 million, a PE ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.15. The stock's 50-day moving average is $2.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.61.

Berry (NASDAQ:BRY - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $182.65 million during 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Berry Co. will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

Berry Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.98%. Berry's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -25.53%.

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.