KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Strong Sell

Zacks Research lowered shares of KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

KNOP has been the topic of several other reports. B. Riley Financial upgraded shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Fearnley Fonds raised shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut KNOT Offshore Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KNOT Offshore Partners presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.00.

KNOT Offshore Partners Price Performance

NYSE KNOP opened at $10.97 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $10.73 and its 200-day moving average is $10.49. 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 $6.76 and a 12-month high of $11.78. The company has a market capitalization of $369.32 million, a PE ratio of 20.32 and a beta of -0.05.

KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The shipping company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $92.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.35 million. KNOT Offshore Partners had a net margin of 4.92% and a return on equity of 6.36%. Equities research analysts anticipate that KNOT Offshore Partners will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KNOT Offshore Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Monday, July 27th will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This is a positive change from KNOT Offshore Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 27th. KNOT Offshore Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.04%.

Insider Activity at KNOT Offshore Partners

In other KNOT Offshore Partners news, Director Trygve Seglem acquired 1,250,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $25,000,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,458,333 shares in the company, valued at $29,166,660. This represents a 600.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in KNOT Offshore Partners during the first quarter worth $130,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in KNOT Offshore Partners by 115.0% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 9,042 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 4,836 shares during the period. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP bought a new position in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $68,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position 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 buying an additional 11,388 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV bought a new stake in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners in the 4th quarter valued at $205,000. 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.