SG Americas Securities LLC Invests $243,000 in Golden Ocean Group Limited (NASDAQ:GOGL)

SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Golden Ocean Group Limited (NASDAQ:GOGL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 24,865 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of Golden Ocean Group by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 288,459 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,282,000 after purchasing an additional 3,939 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Golden Ocean Group by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 475,876 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,750,000 after acquiring an additional 86,628 shares during the last quarter. BDL Capital Management acquired a new stake in Golden Ocean Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $930,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Golden Ocean Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,042,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in Golden Ocean Group by 557.4% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 249,523 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,966,000 after acquiring an additional 211,567 shares during the last quarter. 22.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GOGL shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Golden Ocean Group in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Golden Ocean Group in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Golden Ocean Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.50.

Golden Ocean Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOGL opened at $12.84 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.93 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company’s 50-day moving average is $12.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.00. Golden Ocean Group Limited has a 12-month low of $6.89 and a 12-month high of $13.95.

Golden Ocean Group (NASDAQ:GOGL) last released its earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $187.19 million. Golden Ocean Group had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 5.91%. Research analysts expect that Golden Ocean Group Limited will post 1.52 EPS for the current year.

Golden Ocean Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a positive change from Golden Ocean Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.35%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. Golden Ocean Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 214.29%.

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.