Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 719,845 Shares of Berry Corporation $BRY

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Berry Corporation by 12%, owning approximately 6.7 million shares valued at $21.5 million by the end of the first quarter.
• Analysts have mixed views on Berry's stock, with one analyst upgrading it to a "buy" while another firm lowered the target price from $5.00 to $4.00 and changed their rating from "hold" to "sell."
• Berry Corporation reported a significant earnings surprise, posting $0.66 EPS for the quarter, far exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.01, along with revenue of $210.08 million against expectations of $155 million.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Berry Corporation (NASDAQ:BRY - Free Report) by 12.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,699,963 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 719,845 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 8.63% of Berry worth $21,507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. R Squared Ltd boosted 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 acquiring an additional 7,140 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 6,722 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE purchased a new position in Berry during the 1st quarter worth $71,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Berry by 16.5% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 157,228 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 22,323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Berry by 51.1% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 16,398 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 5,547 shares in the last quarter. 94.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Berry Price Performance

NASDAQ BRY traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $3.27. The company had a trading volume of 369,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 801,904. 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 $253.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.71 and a beta of 1.24. Berry Corporation has a 52 week low of $2.11 and a 52 week high of $5.90. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.00.

Berry (NASDAQ:BRY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $210.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $155.00 million. Berry had a net margin of 0.60% and a return on equity of 5.27%. Equities research analysts expect that Berry Corporation will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Berry Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.