StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on Berry Global Group (NYSE:BERY)

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Berry Global Group (NYSE:BERY) in a research note published on Friday morning. The firm issued a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $76.00 target price on shares of Berry Global Group in a research note on Monday, November 25th. UBS Group lowered Berry Global Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on Berry Global Group from $64.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up from $70.00) on shares of Berry Global Group in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Berry Global Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.40.

Berry Global Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BERY opened at $65.02 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.49 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $68.42 and a 200-day moving average of $65.94. Berry Global Group has a 12 month low of $54.06 and a 12 month high of $73.31.

Berry Global Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.31 dividend. This is a boost from Berry Global Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Berry Global Group’s payout ratio is currently 28.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Evan Bayh sold 14,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.13, for a total value of $981,820.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 30,228 shares in the company, valued at $2,119,889.64. This represents a 31.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its stake in Berry Global Group by 10.3% during the second quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 14,942,921 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $879,391,000 after buying an additional 1,393,955 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Berry Global Group by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,807,317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $258,821,000 after acquiring an additional 1,055,756 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Berry Global Group by 30.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,472,624 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $204,365,000 after acquiring an additional 807,211 shares in the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP lifted its stake in shares of Berry Global Group by 22.2% in the 2nd quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 2,714,539 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $159,751,000 after purchasing an additional 492,793 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Berry Global Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,688,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.36% of the company’s stock.

Berry Global Group Company Profile

Berry Global Group, Inc manufactures and supplies non-woven, flexible, and rigid products in consumer and industrial end markets in the United States, Canada, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Consumer Packaging International; Consumer Packaging North America; Engineered Materials; and Health, Hygiene & Specialties segments.