KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) Stock Price Crosses Below 200-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Shares of KNOT Offshore Partners LP (NYSE:KNOP) crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $10.50 and traded as low as $10.41. KNOT Offshore Partners shares last traded at $10.6690, with a volume of 33,838 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on KNOP shares. Zacks Research raised shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded KNOT Offshore Partners from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of KNOT Offshore Partners in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, KNOT Offshore Partners has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.00.

KNOT Offshore Partners Trading Down 0.0%

The stock has a market capitalization of $359.66 million, a P/E ratio of 19.79 and a beta of -0.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $10.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The shipping company reported $0.08 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $90.35 million. Research analysts forecast that KNOT Offshore Partners LP will post 0.09 earnings per share for the current year.

KNOT Offshore Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 27th were given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 27th. This is a boost from KNOT Offshore Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. KNOT Offshore Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KNOT Offshore Partners

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KNOP. American Beacon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners by 71.8% during the second quarter. American Beacon Advisors Inc. now owns 865,554 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $8,638,000 after acquiring an additional 361,659 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,294,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners by 8.8% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,335,435 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $13,461,000 after purchasing an additional 108,400 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners in the first quarter worth about $643,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners by 56.5% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 145,483 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,506,000 after acquiring an additional 52,538 shares during the last quarter. 26.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.