Victory Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in Berry Corporation (NASDAQ:BRY)

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management Inc. has reduced its holdings in Berry Corporation by 30.4%, selling 162,094 shares, which leaves it with 371,949 shares worth approximately $1.19 million.
• Analysts have mixed views on Berry's stock, with Johnson Rice upgrading it to a "buy" and Piper Sandler lowering their price objective from $5.00 to $4.00.
• Berry Corporation recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.03 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.90%.

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in Berry Corporation (NASDAQ:BRY - Free Report) by 30.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 371,949 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 162,094 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.48% of Berry worth $1,194,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 3,714 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Berry by 54.9% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,114 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 4,294 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Berry by 49.1% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 21,574 shares of the energy company's stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 7,100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.88% of the company's stock.

Berry Trading Down 5.3%

Shares of BRY traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $2.86. 922,335 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,044,962. The stock has a market cap of $221.94 million, a P/E ratio of -6.09 and a beta of 1.09. The stock's 50-day moving average is $2.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.27. Berry Corporation has a 12 month low of $2.11 and a 12 month high of $6.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Berry (NASDAQ:BRY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The energy company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.02. Berry had a positive return on equity of 7.36% and a negative net margin of 4.51%. The firm had revenue of $182.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $177.00 million. Research analysts forecast that Berry Corporation will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Berry Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid 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 4.2%. Berry's dividend payout ratio is -25.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Berry from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Johnson Rice raised Berry from an "accumulate" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st.

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.