Nuveen Asset Management LLC Reduces Stake in Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY - Free Report) by 48.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 225,502 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 211,410 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned about 0.29% of Berry worth $931,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in Berry by 357.5% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 187,655 shares of the energy company's stock worth $775,000 after purchasing an additional 146,634 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Berry in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,660,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Berry by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,101,825 shares of the energy company's stock worth $8,681,000 after buying an additional 214,580 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Berry by 91.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 514,718 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $2,126,000 after acquiring an additional 245,216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Berry by 59.7% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 69,036 shares of the energy company's stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 25,800 shares in the last quarter. 94.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Johnson Rice raised shares of Berry from an "accumulate" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st.

Berry Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:BRY traded up $0.06 on Friday, reaching $2.64. 737,021 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,092,147. The stock has a market capitalization of $204.85 million, a P/E ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.07. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $2.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Berry Co. has a 52 week low of $2.11 and a 52 week high of $7.02.

Berry (NASDAQ:BRY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The energy company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.02. Berry had a return on equity of 6.50% and a net margin of 9.40%. The business had revenue of $182.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $177.00 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Berry Co. 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, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. Berry's payout ratio is -25.53%.

Berry Company 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.