Golden Ocean Group is the best-performing stock in the Oslo Shipping Index so far this year.
The shares at the John Fredriksen-backed bulker owner have risen 40%.
The market capitalisation is now NOK 27.8bn ($2.6bn).
2020 Bulkers is another winner in Oslo with an increase of 24%.
The Oslo Shipping Index has gained 15% this year compared with the Oslo benchmark, which is only up 3%.
Bulker rates have been strong this year. But in the past month, the market has shown some weakness.
Clarksons Securities said the capesize sector’s earnings dropped 9% on Tuesday to $19,900 per day, with the forward freight agreement market for the rest of 2024 following suit, TradeWinds reported.
That is equivalent to a fall of 40% over a month.
Golden Ocean shares have lost 4% since a peak in March.
Tanker stocks also belong to the top-performing stocks. Stolt-Nielsen is up 35%, while both Frontline and Odfjell A shares have gained over 25%.
Red Sea disruption has created the best-ever market for tankers in terms of tonne-mile demand, according to analysts.
Data from Fearnley Securities and Vortexa showed an all-time high was reached for tonne-miles in March, TradeWinds reported on Thursday.
Preliminary figures show demand for 2024 so far is up 4.1% compared to 2023.
The biggest loser in Oslo is Philly Shipyard with a decline of 31%.
VLGC owners, who were last year’s winners, are also among the weakest shipping stocks.
BW LPG has fallen 13% and Avance Gas is down 12%.
Rates have dropped significantly from record levels last year.
But according to DNB, the VLGC freight market “has seen persistent strength over the past weeks, averaging above $50,000/day the last five weeks”.
DNB analyst Jorgen Lian sees support in “ample” US inventory levels around 10% above the five-year average, which supports “the current strong” US-Far East arbitrage implying an about $60,000 potential day rate for the next two months.
“Thus, we believe the current freight market to support solid earnings for the LPG peer group through 2024,” he said in a note.
DNB sees especially BW LPG to be undervalued.
The bank’s recommendation is to buy, with a target price of NOK 196 per share.
Lian sees a potential share price trigger in the planned US dual-listing this quarter.
According to Lian, the US listing will support valuation moving towards Dorian LPG, which would imply an upside of about 45% to the current share price of NOK 131.5.
