Short Interest in KNOT Offshore Partners LP (NYSE:KNOP) Expands By 6.4%

KNOT Offshore Partners LP (NYSE:KNOP) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 254,300 shares, a growth of 6.4% from the January 15th total of 238,900 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 86,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KNOT Offshore Partners

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. 683 Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in KNOT Offshore Partners by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. 683 Capital Management LLC now owns 1,610,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $8,774,000 after purchasing an additional 39,800 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners by 31.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 583,545 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,180,000 after buying an additional 141,213 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 300,800 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,639,000 after buying an additional 22,300 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 203,999 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,112,000 after buying an additional 32,616 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 189,461 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,033,000 after buying an additional 2,418 shares during the last quarter. 26.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th.

KNOT Offshore Partners Stock Performance

KNOP traded down $0.08 on Tuesday, reaching $5.47. The company had a trading volume of 46,917 shares, compared to its average volume of 67,620. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. KNOT Offshore Partners has a 1 year low of $4.94 and a 1 year high of $9.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $187.62 million, a PE ratio of -12.72 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $5.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.23.

KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The shipping company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.07). KNOT Offshore Partners had a negative net margin of 4.82% and a negative return on equity of 0.29%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that KNOT Offshore Partners will post 0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KNOT Offshore Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 27th were issued a $0.026 dividend. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 27th. KNOT Offshore Partners’s payout ratio is currently -23.26%.

KNOT Offshore Partners Company Profile

KNOT Offshore Partners LP acquires, owns, and operates shuttle tankers under long-term charters in the North Sea and Brazil. The company provides loading, transportation, and discharge of crude oil under time charters and bareboat charters. The company was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Aberdeen, the United Kingdom.