Golden Ocean Group Limited (NASDAQ:GOGL) Short Interest Up 5.6% in October

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Golden Ocean Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Golden Ocean Group by 273.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,190,885 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $67,274,000 after buying an additional 3,802,652 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,174,716 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Golden Ocean Group by 96.9% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,557,288 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $21,491,000 after purchasing an additional 766,436 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Golden Ocean Group by 1,318.6% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 786,018 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,187,000 after purchasing an additional 730,609 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Golden Ocean Group during the first quarter valued at $8,927,000. 22.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Golden Ocean Group from $15.50 to $14.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. StockNews.com lowered Golden Ocean Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 5th.

Golden Ocean Group Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ GOGL opened at $10.76 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Golden Ocean Group has a 52 week low of $7.14 and a 52 week high of $15.77.

Golden Ocean Group (NASDAQ:GOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The shipping company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Golden Ocean Group will post 1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Golden Ocean Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 112.15%.

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.