Golden Ocean Group Limited (NASDAQ:GOGL) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.15

Golden Ocean Group Limited (NASDAQ:GOGL) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 27th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of 0.15 per share by the shipping company on Friday, March 21st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.09%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th.

Golden Ocean Group has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 9.1% per year over the last three years. Golden Ocean Group has a payout ratio of 71.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Golden Ocean Group to earn $0.95 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $1.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 126.3%.

Golden Ocean Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ GOGL traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $9.85. The company had a trading volume of 7,943,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,046,670. The company has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.14 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $9.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22. Golden Ocean Group has a 12-month low of $8.52 and a 12-month high of $15.77.

Golden Ocean Group (NASDAQ:GOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results 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, equities research analysts expect that Golden Ocean Group will post 1.14 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Pareto Securities reiterated 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 reissued a “hold” rating and set a $10.00 price objective on shares of Golden Ocean Group in a report on Wednesday.

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.