KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Thursday.

KNOT Offshore Partners Price Performance

KNOP stock opened at $6.67 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.54. The stock has a market cap of $227.08 million, a PE ratio of -8.78 and a beta of 0.75. KNOT Offshore Partners has a one year low of $4.94 and a one year high of $9.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shipping company reported ($0.38) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.25). KNOT Offshore Partners had a return on equity of 2.84% and a net margin of 0.66%. The company had revenue of $74.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $69.84 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that KNOT Offshore Partners will post 0.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KNOT Offshore Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 29th were paid a $0.026 dividend. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. KNOT Offshore Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently -13.16%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KNOP. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners by 297.5% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 116,623 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 87,283 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in KNOT Offshore Partners by 3.2% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,311,017 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $11,498,000 after buying an additional 41,100 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners in the second quarter worth about $229,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. 26.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About KNOT Offshore Partners

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.