Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,080,000 shares, an increase of 8.8% from the March 15th total of 4,670,000 shares. Approximately 6.9% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,030,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.9 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Berry by 525.6% in the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,147 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,644 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in Berry by 211.9% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,905 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 2,653 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its position in Berry by 1,169.4% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,151 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 3,824 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Berry in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY raised its position in Berry by 35.0% in the fourth quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 4,844 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,257 shares during the period. 94.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Berry Stock Performance

BRY traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $8.29. 509,877 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,003,437. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $7.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $637.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.02 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Berry has a 1-year low of $6.22 and a 1-year high of $8.94.

Berry (NASDAQ:BRY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 6th. The energy company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.12). Berry had a net margin of 4.14% and a return on equity of 5.27%. The business had revenue of $216.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.28 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. Berry's revenue was down 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Berry will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Berry Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a None dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from Berry's previous None dividend of $0.21. This represents a dividend yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Berry's payout ratio is currently 104.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, TheStreet raised Berry from a "c" rating to a "b-" rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th.

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.

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