5,000 Shares in Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY) Bought by Viking Fund Management LLC

Viking Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,000 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of Berry by 1.7% during 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Berry by 64.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,085,554 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $8,902,000 after purchasing an additional 425,293 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in Berry in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $66,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Berry by 29.6% during the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 355,847 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,916,000 after purchasing an additional 81,317 shares during the period. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Berry by 11.3% during the third quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 229,674 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,883,000 after acquiring an additional 23,408 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.88% of the company’s stock.

Berry Stock Up 2.9 %

NASDAQ BRY traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $6.45. The stock had a trading volume of 663,643 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,066,911. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $7.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Berry Co. has a 1 year low of $6.07 and a 1 year high of $8.94. The stock has a market cap of $496.26 million, a PE ratio of 634.00 and a beta of 1.74.

Berry (NASDAQ:BRY) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $202.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.65 million. Berry had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 6.15%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.07 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Berry Co. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Berry Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.44%. Berry’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.