Golden Ocean Group Limited (NASDAQ:GOGL) Short Interest Update

Golden Ocean Group Limited (NASDAQ:GOGL) saw a significant growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,790,000 shares, a growth of 8.9% from the March 31st total of 3,480,000 shares. Currently, 3.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,710,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Golden Ocean Group Trading Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ GOGL traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $14.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,551,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,736,308. The stock has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Golden Ocean Group has a 52 week low of $6.89 and a 52 week high of $14.16.

Golden Ocean Group (NASDAQ:GOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The shipping company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $196.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $187.19 million. Golden Ocean Group had a return on equity of 5.91% and a net margin of 12.68%. Equities analysts forecast that Golden Ocean Group will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Golden Ocean Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.52%. This is an increase from Golden Ocean Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Golden Ocean Group’s payout ratio is 214.29%.

Institutional Trading of Golden Ocean Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Folketrygdfondet grew its position in shares of Golden Ocean Group by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 9,402,318 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $91,767,000 after acquiring an additional 500,000 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Golden Ocean Group by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,151,274 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $11,236,000 after purchasing an additional 155,425 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Golden Ocean Group by 108.5% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 712,829 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $6,928,000 after buying an additional 370,918 shares during the period. Hosking Partners LLP grew its stake in Golden Ocean Group by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 707,321 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,574,000 after buying an additional 118,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in Golden Ocean Group by 45.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 546,432 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $4,307,000 after acquiring an additional 170,193 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 22.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on GOGL. BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Golden Ocean Group in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Golden Ocean Group in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Golden Ocean Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Golden Ocean Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.50.

Golden Ocean Group Company Profile

Golden Ocean Group Limited, a shipping company, owns and operates a fleet of dry bulk vessels worldwide. The company's dry bulk vessels comprise Newcastlemax, Capesize, and Panamax vessels operating in the spot and time charter markets. It also transports a range of bulk commodities, including ores, coal, grains, and fertilizers.