Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys Shares of 125,778 Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 125,778 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $884,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.17% of Berry as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Berry by 525.6% in the 1st 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. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Berry by 1,169.4% in the 2nd 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 acquired a new position in shares of Berry in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY lifted its stake in shares of Berry by 35.0% in the 4th 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. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Berry in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, TheStreet upgraded shares of Berry from a "c" rating to a "b-" rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th.

Berry Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of BRY traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $8.69. The stock had a trading volume of 726,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,073,140. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Berry Co. has a 52 week low of $6.22 and a 52 week high of $8.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $7.24 and a 200 day moving average of $7.33. The company has a market cap of $663.31 million, a P/E ratio of 18.89 and a beta of 1.80.

Berry (NASDAQ:BRY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 6th. The energy company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $216.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.28 million. Berry had a net margin of 4.14% and a return on equity of 5.27%. Berry's quarterly revenue was down 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Berry Co. will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Berry Increases Dividend

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

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.