KNOT Offshore Partners LP (NYSE:KNOP) Receives $14.00 Average Target Price from Analysts

KNOT Offshore Partners LP (NYSE:KNOP) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation, one has issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $14.00.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st.

KNOT Offshore Partners Stock Performance

NYSE:KNOP opened at $10.45 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $351.81 million, a P/E ratio of 19.36 and a beta of -0.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $10.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.50. KNOT Offshore Partners has a fifty-two week low of $6.76 and a fifty-two week high of $11.78.

KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) last posted its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $92.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.35 million. KNOT Offshore Partners had a net margin of 4.92% and a return on equity of 6.36%. Analysts expect that KNOT Offshore Partners will post 0.09 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 27th will be given a $0.075 dividend. This is a boost from KNOT Offshore Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 27th. KNOT Offshore Partners’s dividend payout ratio is 37.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at KNOT Offshore Partners

In other news, Director Trygve Seglem acquired 1,250,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at $29,166,660. This trade represents a 600.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KNOT Offshore Partners

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KNOP. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in KNOT Offshore Partners in the first quarter worth approximately $130,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in 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 valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 4,836 shares in the last quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP bought a new position in KNOT Offshore Partners in the second quarter worth $68,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 11,388 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV bought a new position in KNOT Offshore Partners during the fourth quarter worth about $205,000. Institutional investors own 26.82% of the company’s stock.

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.