Piper Sandler Has Lowered Expectations for Berry (NASDAQ:BRY) Stock Price

Berry (NASDAQ:BRY) had its price objective lowered by Piper Sandler from $7.00 to $5.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the energy company’s stock.

Berry Price Performance

BRY opened at $4.37 on Monday. Berry has a 12-month low of $4.16 and a 12-month high of $8.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.08. The company has a market cap of $336.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 1.72.

Berry (NASDAQ:BRY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The energy company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). Berry had a net margin of 9.40% and a return on equity of 6.50%. The company had revenue of $259.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.15 earnings per share. Berry’s revenue was up 31.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Berry will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Berry Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Berry’s payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Fernando Araujo sold 33,950 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.22, for a total transaction of $211,169.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 253,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,573,939.90. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Berry

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BRY. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in Berry in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Berry in the second quarter worth about $27,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in Berry by 287.4% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,560 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 3,383 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Berry by 43.5% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,212 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 2,186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Berry in the second quarter worth about $50,000. 94.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Berry Company 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.