Encompass Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 1,778,571 Shares of Golden Ocean Group Limited (NASDAQ:GOGL)

Encompass Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Golden Ocean Group Limited (NASDAQ:GOGL - Free Report) by 1,402.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,905,407 shares of the shipping company's stock after buying an additional 1,778,571 shares during the quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC owned 0.95% of Golden Ocean Group worth $17,072,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Golden Ocean Group by 31.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 444,453 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $5,947,000 after purchasing an additional 106,966 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Golden Ocean Group by 70.6% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 41,515 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 17,185 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Golden Ocean Group by 196.5% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 961,367 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $8,614,000 after purchasing an additional 637,103 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management purchased a new position in Golden Ocean Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $770,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Golden Ocean Group by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 59,951 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 12,647 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 22.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GOGL. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Golden Ocean Group from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Golden Ocean Group in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a "hold" rating for the company.

Golden Ocean Group Trading Up 0.6%

Golden Ocean Group stock traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $8.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,085,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,247,500. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.61 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $7.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.01. Golden Ocean Group Limited has a 12 month low of $6.27 and a 12 month high of $15.77.

Golden Ocean Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.50%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. Golden Ocean Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 53.57%.

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.