Graham Capital Management L.P. Raises Stock Position in Berry Corporation $BRY

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in Berry Corporation by 49.8%, acquiring an additional 76,930 shares, bringing its total holdings to 231,499 shares valued at approximately $743,000.
• Berry Corporation reported strong earnings with a quarterly EPS of $0.66, significantly beating the estimate of $0.01 and generating revenue of $210.08 million, surpassing expectations of $155 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.03 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 3.7% and a high payout ratio of 171.43%.

Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Berry Corporation (NASDAQ:BRY - Free Report) by 49.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 231,499 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 76,930 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. owned 0.30% of Berry worth $743,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Berry during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Berry in the first quarter worth $34,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Berry by 130.6% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,869 shares of the energy company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 6,722 shares during the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in Berry during the first quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd lifted its position in Berry by 103.3% during the first quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 14,050 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 7,140 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BRY shares. Piper Sandler cut their price target 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 report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Berry from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $4.00.

Berry Price Performance

NASDAQ BRY traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $3.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 492,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 767,174. The firm has a market capitalization of $249.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.86 and a beta of 1.24. The company's 50-day moving average is $3.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Berry Corporation has a 1-year low of $2.11 and a 1-year high of $5.90.

Berry (NASDAQ:BRY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The energy company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.65. The company had revenue of $210.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $155.00 million. Berry had a return on equity of 5.27% and a net margin of 0.60%. On average, equities analysts predict that Berry Corporation will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

Berry Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. Berry's payout ratio is presently 171.43%.

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.