KNOT Offshore Partners LP (NYSE:KNOP) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of KNOT Offshore Partners LP (NYSE:KNOP) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $14.00.

KNOP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Zacks Research lowered shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded KNOT Offshore Partners from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Fearnley Fonds raised KNOT Offshore Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th.

Insider Activity at KNOT Offshore Partners

In related news, Director Trygve Seglem bought 1,250,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were acquired 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 represents a 600.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Institutional Trading of KNOT Offshore Partners

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners during the first quarter worth $130,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in KNOT Offshore Partners by 115.0% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP acquired a new stake in KNOT Offshore Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at $68,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in KNOT Offshore Partners by 220.3% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 16,557 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 11,388 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in KNOT Offshore Partners during the 4th quarter worth $205,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.82% of the company’s stock.

KNOT Offshore Partners Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KNOP opened at $10.49 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $353.16 million, a PE ratio of 19.43 and a beta of -0.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The business has a 50-day moving average of $10.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.50. KNOT Offshore Partners has a 12 month low of $6.76 and a 12 month high of $11.78.

KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The shipping company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.09). The firm 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, research analysts forecast that KNOT Offshore Partners will post 0.09 earnings per share for the current year.

KNOT Offshore Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 27th will be paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from KNOT Offshore Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 27th. KNOT Offshore Partners’s payout ratio is 37.04%.

About KNOT Offshore Partners

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.