Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY) Short Interest Update

Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,470,000 shares, a growth of 18.5% from the February 13th total of 1,240,000 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,010,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Berry Trading Down 4.3 %

BRY stock traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $3.34. 2,520,012 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,081,804. Berry has a one year low of $3.06 and a one year high of $8.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $257.90 million, a PE ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.67. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $4.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.54.

Berry (NASDAQ:BRY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 12th. The energy company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $167.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $173.00 million. Berry had a return on equity of 6.50% and a net margin of 9.40%. Research analysts predict that Berry will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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Berry Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Saturday, March 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. Berry's payout ratio is 48.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Berry

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRY. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Berry in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in Berry in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Berry by 54.9% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,114 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 4,294 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Berry during the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Berry by 149.7% during the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 13,780 shares of the energy company's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 8,261 shares in the last quarter. 94.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.