KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Sunday,Wall Street Zen reports.

KNOP has been the subject of a number of other reports. Zacks Research raised KNOT Offshore Partners from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of KNOT Offshore Partners in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.00.

KNOT Offshore Partners Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of KNOT Offshore Partners stock opened at $11.37 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.54. The stock has a market cap of $382.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.84 and a beta of -0.05. KNOT Offshore Partners has a 12-month low of $7.74 and a 12-month high of $11.78.

KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, September 4th. The shipping company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.13. KNOT Offshore Partners had a net margin of 3.90% and a return on equity of 5.73%. The firm had revenue of $96.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.65 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that KNOT Offshore Partners will post 0.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KNOT Offshore Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 27th were issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 27th. This is a positive change from KNOT Offshore Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. KNOT Offshore Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at KNOT Offshore Partners

In related news, Director Trygve Seglem purchased 1,250,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $25,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,458,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,166,660. The trade was a 600.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Institutional Trading of KNOT Offshore Partners

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KNOP. Royal Bank of Canada acquired a new position in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings 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 worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 4,836 shares during the period. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP acquired a new stake in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners during the second quarter worth $68,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in KNOT Offshore Partners by 220.3% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 16,557 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 11,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in KNOT Offshore Partners in the 4th quarter valued at $125,000. 26.82% of the stock is 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.