LSV Asset Management Acquires 882,441 Shares of Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY)

LSV Asset Management grew its stake in Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY) by 136.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,528,863 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 882,441 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Berry were worth $10,748,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its position in Berry by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 99,791 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $702,000 after acquiring an additional 1,580 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of Berry by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 152,500 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,250,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Berry by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 20,572 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 3,089 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Berry by 0.4% in the third quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 1,137,100 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $9,324,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in Berry in the 3rd quarter valued at $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.88% of the company’s stock.

Berry Price Performance

Shares of BRY stock opened at $7.67 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $7.97 and its 200-day moving average is $7.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $590.13 million, a PE ratio of 767.00 and a beta of 1.77. Berry Co. has a 52 week low of $6.22 and a 52 week high of $8.94.

Berry (NASDAQ:BRY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The energy company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.04). Berry had a return on equity of 6.15% and a net margin of 0.41%. The firm had revenue of $202.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.65 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.07 earnings per share. Berry’s quarterly revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Berry Co. will post 0.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Berry Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.26%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Berry’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4,800.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Berry 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.