KNOT Offshore Partners LP (NYSE:KNOP) Receives Average 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 research firms that are currently covering the firm, 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 twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $14.00.

A number of analysts have commented on KNOP shares. Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, B. Riley Financial upgraded shares of 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.

Institutional Trading of KNOT Offshore Partners

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada bought a new stake in KNOT Offshore Partners during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners by 115.0% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 9,042 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 4,836 shares in the last quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP bought a new stake in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners in the 2nd quarter worth $68,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners by 220.3% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 16,557 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 11,388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners in the 4th quarter worth $125,000. Institutional investors own 26.82% of the company’s stock.

KNOT Offshore Partners Stock Down 0.2%

KNOT Offshore Partners stock opened at $10.71 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. KNOT Offshore Partners has a 12-month low of $6.16 and a 12-month high of $11.78. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $10.64 and its 200 day moving average is $10.47. The company has a market capitalization of $360.33 million, a PE ratio of 19.82 and a beta of -0.06.

KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) last released 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). KNOT Offshore Partners had a net margin of 4.92% and a return on equity of 6.36%. The company had revenue of $92.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.35 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that KNOT Offshore Partners will post 0.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KNOT Offshore Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 27th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This is a boost from KNOT Offshore Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 27th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. KNOT Offshore Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.