KNOT Offshore Partners LP (NYSE:KNOP) Short Interest Down 38.8% in June

KNOT Offshore Partners LP (NYSE:KNOP) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 138,382 shares, a decrease of 38.8% from the June 15th total of 226,089 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 100,507 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on KNOP shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Fearnley Fonds raised shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, KNOT Offshore Partners has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at KNOT Offshore Partners

In related news, Director Trygve Seglem purchased 1,250,000 shares of KNOT Offshore Partners stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $25,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,458,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,166,660. This trade represents a 600.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Institutional Trading of KNOT Offshore Partners

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in KNOT Offshore Partners in the first quarter valued at about $130,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in KNOT Offshore Partners by 115.0% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 9,042 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 4,836 shares during the period. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP acquired a new stake in KNOT Offshore Partners during the second quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in KNOT Offshore Partners by 220.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV bought a new stake in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $205,000. 26.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KNOT Offshore Partners Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KNOP traded down $0.29 during trading on Friday, hitting $10.25. 29,566 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 65,452. The company has a market capitalization of $345.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98 and a beta of -0.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.25. KNOT Offshore Partners has a 1-year low of $6.76 and a 1-year high of $11.78. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.68 and its 200-day simple 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.09). KNOT Offshore Partners had a net margin of 4.92% and a return on equity of 6.36%. The firm had revenue of $92.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.35 million. Sell-side analysts expect that KNOT Offshore Partners will post 0.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KNOT Offshore Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 27th. This is a positive change from KNOT Offshore Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. KNOT Offshore Partners’s payout ratio is 37.04%.

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.