Golden Ocean Group (NASDAQ:GOGL) Earns “Hold” Rating from Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group reissued their hold rating on shares of Golden Ocean Group (NASDAQ:GOGL) in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $10.00 price target on the shipping company’s stock.

Separately, Pareto Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $12.50 target price on shares of Golden Ocean Group in a report on Thursday, November 21st.

Golden Ocean Group Stock Performance

Golden Ocean Group stock opened at $9.70 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $9.18 and a 200-day moving average of $10.62. Golden Ocean Group has a 1 year low of $8.52 and a 1 year high of $15.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.02 and a beta of 1.16.

Golden Ocean Group (NASDAQ:GOGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 27th. The shipping company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.04. Golden Ocean Group had a return on equity of 13.14% and a net margin of 23.89%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Golden Ocean Group will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Golden Ocean Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.19%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Golden Ocean Group’s payout ratio is presently 99.17%.

Institutional Trading of Golden Ocean Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Golden Ocean Group by 74.2% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 34,074 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 14,518 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of Golden Ocean Group by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 119,597 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,062,000 after buying an additional 4,198 shares in the last quarter. PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Golden Ocean Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $189,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Golden Ocean Group by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 1,495,472 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $13,399,000 after buying an additional 95,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Golden Ocean Group by 155.8% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 56,864 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $510,000 after buying an additional 34,636 shares in the last quarter. 22.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Golden Ocean Group

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.