Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY) Short Interest Update

Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,780,000 shares, an increase of 21.1% from the February 28th total of 1,470,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 999,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days. Currently, 2.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Berry Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ BRY opened at $3.19 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $3.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.43. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $246.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.67.

Berry (NASDAQ:BRY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 12th. The energy company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $167.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $173.00 million. Berry had a return on equity of 6.50% and a net margin of 9.40%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Berry will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

Berry Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 22nd were issued a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 21st. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. Berry’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.00%.

Institutional Trading of Berry

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Berry by 598.6% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 134,905 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 115,594 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in shares of Berry by 92.3% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 87,120 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 41,822 shares in the last quarter. GTS Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Berry in the fourth quarter worth $93,000. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Berry in the 4th quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Berry in the 4th quarter valued at about $834,000. 94.88% of the stock is currently 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.