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

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

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on KNOP shares. Wall Street Zen cut KNOT Offshore Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Fearnley Fonds upgraded KNOT Offshore Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. 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 report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered KNOT Offshore Partners from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st.

KNOT Offshore Partners Stock Performance

KNOT Offshore Partners stock opened at $10.11 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $10.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $340.30 million, a PE ratio of 18.72 and a beta of -0.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.25. KNOT Offshore Partners has a one year low of $6.16 and a one year high of $11.78.

KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The shipping company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $92.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.35 million. KNOT Offshore Partners had a net margin of 4.92% and a return on equity of 6.36%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that KNOT Offshore Partners will post 0.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KNOT Offshore Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, April 27th were issued a $0.05 dividend. This is a boost from KNOT Offshore Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 27th. KNOT Offshore Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Trygve Seglem bought 1,250,000 shares of KNOT Offshore Partners stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $25,000,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 1,458,333 shares in the company, valued at $29,166,660. This trade represents a 600.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KNOT Offshore Partners

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners during the first quarter worth approximately $130,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners by 115.0% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 9,042 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 4,836 shares during the period. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP bought a new stake in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners during the second quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners by 220.3% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 16,557 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 11,388 shares during the period. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its position in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners by 11.5% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 48,075 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $424,000 after purchasing an additional 4,957 shares during the period. 26.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.