KNOT Offshore Partners LP (NYSE:KNOP) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

KNOT Offshore Partners LP (NYSE:KNOP) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $14.00.

KNOP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of KNOT Offshore Partners in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered KNOT Offshore Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Fearnley Fonds raised KNOT Offshore Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. B. Riley Financial raised KNOT Offshore Partners from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered KNOT Offshore Partners from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th.

KNOT Offshore Partners Stock Performance

Shares of KNOP opened at $10.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $10.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $345.00 million, a P/E ratio of 14.90 and a beta of -0.10. KNOT Offshore Partners has a 52 week low of $6.16 and a 52 week high of $11.15.

KNOT Offshore Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. This is a positive change from KNOT Offshore Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 27th. KNOT Offshore Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KNOT Offshore Partners

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in KNOT Offshore Partners during the fourth quarter valued at about $313,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in KNOT Offshore Partners during the fourth quarter valued at about $277,000. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP purchased a new stake in KNOT Offshore Partners during the fourth quarter valued at about $144,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in KNOT Offshore Partners during the fourth quarter valued at about $138,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in KNOT Offshore Partners during the first quarter valued at about $130,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.82% of the company’s stock.

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.