KNOT Offshore Partners LP (NYSE:KNOP) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

KNOT Offshore Partners LP (NYSE:KNOP) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 138,382 shares, a drop of 38.8% from the June 15th total of 226,089 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 100,507 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on KNOP shares. Fearnley Fonds upgraded KNOT Offshore Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. B. Riley Financial upgraded shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Zacks Research lowered shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut KNOT Offshore Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. One research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, KNOT Offshore Partners has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Trygve Seglem acquired 1,250,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $25,000,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 1,458,333 shares of the company’s stock, 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 available at this link.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KNOT Offshore Partners

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KNOP. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners in the 1st quarter worth approximately $130,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners by 115.0% during 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 during the period. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP bought a new stake in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $68,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in KNOT Offshore Partners by 220.3% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 16,557 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 11,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in KNOT Offshore Partners in the fourth quarter worth $205,000. 26.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KNOT Offshore Partners Stock Performance

Shares of KNOT Offshore Partners stock traded down $0.18 on Friday, hitting $10.36. The stock had a trading volume of 15,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 105,001. The stock has a market cap of $348.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19 and a beta of -0.05. 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 twelve month low of $6.76 and a twelve month high of $11.78. The business’s 50 day moving average is $10.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.50.

KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The shipping company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.09). KNOT Offshore Partners had a return on equity of 6.36% and a net margin of 4.92%.The business had revenue of $92.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.35 million. Analysts forecast that KNOT Offshore Partners will post 0.09 EPS for the current year.

KNOT Offshore Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. This is an increase from KNOT Offshore Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 27th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. KNOT Offshore Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.56%.

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.