KNOT Offshore Partners LP (NYSE:KNOP) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Brokerages

Shares of KNOT Offshore Partners LP (NYSE:KNOP) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $14.00.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on KNOP. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of KNOT Offshore Partners in a research note on Tuesday.

KNOT Offshore Partners Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:KNOP opened at $9.93 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $334.31 million, a PE ratio of 22.57 and a beta of -0.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $10.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.53. KNOT Offshore Partners has a 1 year low of $8.77 and a 1 year high of $11.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 14th. The shipping company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter. KNOT Offshore Partners had a return on equity of 5.73% and a net margin of 3.90%. The business had revenue of $96.78 million for the quarter. Analysts expect that KNOT Offshore Partners will post 0.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KNOT Offshore Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 26th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 26th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. This is a positive change from KNOT Offshore Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.0750. KNOT Offshore Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.91%.

Institutional Trading of KNOT Offshore Partners

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KNOP. Royal Bank of Canada acquired a new stake in KNOT Offshore Partners in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in KNOT Offshore Partners in the 1st quarter worth approximately $259,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners in the first quarter worth $643,000. American Beacon Advisors Inc. increased its position in KNOT Offshore Partners by 71.8% during the second quarter. American Beacon Advisors Inc. now owns 865,554 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $8,638,000 after acquiring an additional 361,659 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in KNOT Offshore Partners by 8.8% during 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 26.82% of the company’s stock.

About KNOT Offshore Partners

KNOT Offshore Partners LP (NYSE: KNOP) is a publicly traded limited partnership that owns and operates shuttle tankers. These specialized vessels transport crude oil from offshore production facilities and loading terminals to onshore refineries, storage facilities and other destinations.

The partnership’s vessels are generally employed under long-term or medium-term charter contracts with major oil and gas companies. Shuttle tankers are equipped with systems designed for offshore loading and unloading, including dynamic positioning and specialized bow-loading technology, enabling them to operate in demanding offshore environments.

KNOT Offshore Partners was formed by its sponsor, KNOT Offshore Partners AS, which is part of the KNOT group, a maritime organization associated with Knutsen OAS Shipping and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha.