Berry (NASDAQ:BRY) Upgraded by Johnson Rice to Buy Rating

Johnson Rice upgraded shares of Berry (NASDAQ:BRY) from an accumulate rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Berry Stock Down 1.1%

Berry stock opened at $2.61 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Berry has a 1-year low of $2.11 and a 1-year high of $7.22. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.74. The company has a market cap of $202.53 million, a P/E ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.15.

Berry (NASDAQ:BRY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The energy company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.02. Berry had a return on equity of 6.50% and a net margin of 9.40%. The company had revenue of $182.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $177.00 million. Research analysts anticipate that Berry will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Berry Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Berry’s dividend payout ratio is currently -25.53%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Berry

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BRY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Berry by 1.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 269,502 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,385,000 after acquiring an additional 4,686 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in shares of Berry by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 102,185 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 23,266 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Berry by 54.2% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 41,475 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 14,579 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Berry in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management grew its holdings in Berry by 149.7% during the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 13,780 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 8,261 shares during the period. 94.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.