Short Interest in Golden Ocean Group Limited (NASDAQ:GOGL) Grows By 5.6%

Golden Ocean Group Limited (NASDAQ:GOGL) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,180,000 shares, an increase of 5.6% from the September 30th total of 3,010,000 shares. Currently, 2.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,400,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Golden Ocean Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Golden Ocean Group by 1,372.9% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,260,278 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $17,392,000 after buying an additional 1,174,716 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Golden Ocean Group by 406.0% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 156,392 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,027,000 after purchasing an additional 125,484 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Golden Ocean Group by 463.6% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 610,850 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,916,000 after purchasing an additional 502,476 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Golden Ocean Group by 1,318.6% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 786,018 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,187,000 after purchasing an additional 730,609 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Golden Ocean Group during the 1st quarter valued at $677,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 22.00% of the company’s stock.

Golden Ocean Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOGL opened at $10.76 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $11.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.90. Golden Ocean Group has a one year low of $7.14 and a one year high of $15.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 1.17.

Golden Ocean Group (NASDAQ:GOGL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The shipping company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $197.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $187.74 million. Golden Ocean Group had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 22.01%. Analysts forecast that Golden Ocean Group will post 1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Golden Ocean Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.15%. Golden Ocean Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOGL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Golden Ocean Group from $15.50 to $14.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. StockNews.com downgraded Golden Ocean Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 5th.

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.