KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) Upgraded 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 report published on Wednesday morning.

KNOT Offshore Partners Price Performance

NYSE KNOP opened at $6.73 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.99. KNOT Offshore Partners has a 52-week low of $4.94 and a 52-week high of $9.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $230.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.65 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The shipping company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $91.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $76.50 million. KNOT Offshore Partners had a negative return on equity of 0.29% and a negative net margin of 4.82%. Equities research analysts predict that KNOT Offshore Partners will post 0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KNOT Offshore Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 6th. Investors of record on Monday, January 27th were paid a dividend of $0.026 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 27th. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. KNOT Offshore Partners’s payout ratio is 24.39%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KNOP. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its position in KNOT Offshore Partners by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 13,589 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 1,865 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners in the 4th quarter worth $77,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $135,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners in the 4th quarter valued at $184,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP raised its position in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners by 170.4% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 37,938 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 23,907 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.82% of the company’s stock.

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.