Berry Corporation $BRY Shares Bought by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Berry Corporation (NASDAQ:BRY) by 9.9% during Q1, owning over 2.3 million shares valued at approximately $7.4 million.
• Berry Corporation reported earnings of $0.66 per share in its last quarterly report, significantly exceeding analysts' predictions of $0.01, with revenues reaching $210.08 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.03 per share, translating to an annual yield of 3.7% and a payout ratio of 171.43%.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Berry Corporation (NASDAQ:BRY - Free Report) by 9.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,310,008 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 208,183 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 2.98% of Berry worth $7,415,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRY. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Berry in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Berry by 130.6% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,869 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 6,722 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd boosted its position in Berry by 103.3% in the first quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 14,050 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 7,140 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Berry by 51.1% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 16,398 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 5,547 shares during the period. Finally, Virtus Fund Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Berry in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.88% of the company's stock.

Berry Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ BRY traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $3.33. 653,717 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 804,652. The company's 50-day moving average is $3.03 and its 200-day moving average is $3.01. Berry Corporation has a 52-week low of $2.11 and a 52-week high of $6.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $258.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.57 and a beta of 1.24.

Berry (NASDAQ:BRY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The energy company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.65. Berry had a return on equity of 5.27% and a net margin of 0.60%.The firm had revenue of $210.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $155.00 million. Analysts expect that Berry Corporation will post 0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Berry Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Berry's dividend payout ratio is presently 171.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BRY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Berry from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Johnson Rice raised Berry from an "accumulate" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Berry from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Berry presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $4.00.

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.