Golden Ocean Group Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:GOGL)

Golden Ocean Group Limited (NASDAQ:GOGL) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 9,014 call options on the company. This is an increase of 2,397% compared to the typical daily volume of 361 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Golden Ocean Group by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 71,533 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $641,000 after purchasing an additional 1,201 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in Golden Ocean Group by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 13,596 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in Golden Ocean Group by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 257,524 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,658 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Golden Ocean Group by 47.1% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,294 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Golden Ocean Group by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 108,525 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $965,000 after purchasing an additional 2,078 shares in the last quarter. 22.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Golden Ocean Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOGL opened at $9.85 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.14 and a beta of 1.16. Golden Ocean Group has a 52 week low of $8.52 and a 52 week high of $15.77. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $9.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

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

Golden Ocean Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.09%. Golden Ocean Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOGL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Pareto Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $12.50 price target on shares of Golden Ocean Group in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $10.00 price target on shares of Golden Ocean Group in a research note on Wednesday.

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.