Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Increases Stake in Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY - Free Report) by 2,942.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,039,356 shares of the energy company's stock after buying an additional 1,005,195 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned approximately 1.37% of Berry worth $7,307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BRY. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Berry by 1.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 599,135 shares of the energy company's stock worth $6,183,000 after buying an additional 10,668 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Berry in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,061,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Berry by 55.4% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 36,618 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 13,057 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Berry by 6.4% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 101,052 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 6,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its position in Berry by 41.6% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 4,554 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,338 shares during the last quarter. 94.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Berry Price Performance

Berry stock traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $8.44. 717,156 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 929,940. Berry Co. has a one year low of $6.22 and a one year high of $8.94. The stock has a market cap of $644.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.35 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $7.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.35.

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

Berry Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a None dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 6.7%. This is a positive change from Berry's previous None dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Berry's payout ratio is presently 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.