Bank of America Corp DE Boosts Stake in Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY)

Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY - Free Report) by 31.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 490,468 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 116,220 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.64% of Berry worth $2,026,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BRY. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Berry by 54.2% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 41,475 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 14,579 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Berry during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in Berry during the 4th quarter worth about $70,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Berry by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 407,832 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,684,000 after buying an additional 19,820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Berry by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,729,339 shares of the energy company's stock worth $11,682,000 after buying an additional 35,728 shares during the last quarter. 94.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Berry Stock Up 2.3%

NASDAQ BRY traded up $0.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $2.64. 737,036 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,090,414. The stock has a market cap of $204.85 million, a P/E ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.07. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $2.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.57. Berry Co. has a 1 year low of $2.11 and a 1 year high of $7.02.

Berry (NASDAQ:BRY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The energy company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.02. Berry had a return on equity of 6.50% and a net margin of 9.40%. The company had revenue of $182.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $177.00 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Berry Co. will post 0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Berry Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. Berry's payout ratio is currently -25.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Johnson Rice raised Berry from an "accumulate" rating to a "buy" rating in a 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.