KNOT Offshore Partners LP (NYSE:KNOP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of KNOT Offshore Partners LP (NYSE:KNOP) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $14.00.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KNOP. Weiss Ratings cut shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut KNOT Offshore Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Zacks Research cut KNOT Offshore Partners from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Fearnley Fonds upgraded KNOT Offshore Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, B. Riley Financial upgraded KNOT Offshore Partners from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th.

KNOT Offshore Partners Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KNOP opened at $11.02 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.44. KNOT Offshore Partners has a one year low of $6.16 and a one year high of $11.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $370.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41 and a beta of -0.06.

KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The shipping company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.09). KNOT Offshore Partners had a net margin of 4.92% and a return on equity of 6.36%. The business had revenue of $92.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.35 million. On average, analysts predict that KNOT Offshore Partners will post 0.87 EPS for the current year.

KNOT Offshore Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, April 27th were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This is an increase from KNOT Offshore Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 27th. KNOT Offshore Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.04%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KNOP. American Beacon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in KNOT Offshore Partners by 182.6% during the fourth quarter. American Beacon Advisors Inc. now owns 503,895 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,215,000 after purchasing an additional 325,588 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new position in KNOT Offshore Partners in the fourth quarter worth $1,294,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in KNOT Offshore Partners by 8.8% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,335,435 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $13,461,000 after acquiring an additional 108,400 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in KNOT Offshore Partners in the first quarter worth $643,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in KNOT Offshore Partners by 56.5% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 145,483 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,506,000 after acquiring an additional 52,538 shares in the last quarter. 26.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KNOT Offshore Partners Company Profile

KNOT Offshore Partners LP is a publicly traded limited partnership formed in 2013 to own and operate shuttle tankers under long‐term charters in the offshore oil industry. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol KNOP, the partnership specializes in the transportation of crude oil from offshore production facilities to onshore refineries. Its fleet comprises moderne shuttle tankers equipped with dynamic positioning systems, enabling safe transfer operations in harsh weather and sea conditions.

The partnership’s vessels primarily serve fields in the North Sea, Brazil and West Africa, where they operate under multi‐year contracts with major energy producers.