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

KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

KNOP has been the topic of several other reports. Fearnley Fonds upgraded KNOT Offshore Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research 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 target price for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings downgraded KNOT Offshore Partners from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered KNOT Offshore Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. One 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 given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.00.

KNOT Offshore Partners Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KNOP opened at $10.97 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $369.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32 and a beta of -0.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. KNOT Offshore Partners has a 1-year low of $6.76 and a 1-year high of $11.78. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $10.73 and its 200 day moving average is $10.49.

KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) last issued its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $92.01 million for 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that KNOT Offshore Partners will post 0.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Trygve Seglem bought 1,250,000 shares of KNOT Offshore Partners stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $25,000,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 1,458,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,166,660. The trade was a 600.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KNOT Offshore Partners

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada bought a new stake in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners by 8.8% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,335,435 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $13,461,000 after buying an additional 108,400 shares during the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners in the first quarter worth approximately $259,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in KNOT Offshore Partners during the 1st quarter valued at $643,000. Finally, Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new stake in KNOT Offshore Partners during the fourth quarter valued at $1,294,000. 26.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.