KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) Lowered to "Sell" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded KNOT Offshore Partners to “Sell” from “Hold,” although the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with a $14.00 target price.
• KNOP shares recently traded at $10.90, near their 50-day and 200-day moving averages, while the company’s latest quarterly earnings of $0.08 per share missed estimates of $0.17 despite revenue exceeding expectations.
• Director Trygve Seglem purchased 1.25 million shares for $25 million, and institutional investors and hedge funds own approximately 26.82% of the company.

KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of KNOT Offshore Partners in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research upgraded KNOT Offshore Partners from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $14.00.

KNOT Offshore Partners Stock Performance

Shares of KNOP traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $10.90. 61,459 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 43,107. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.25. The stock's fifty day moving average is $10.49 and its 200 day moving average is $10.51. KNOT Offshore Partners has a 1-year low of $7.65 and a 1-year high of $11.78. The stock has a market cap of $366.89 million, a P/E ratio of 20.19 and a beta of -0.05.

KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The shipping company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $92.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.35 million. KNOT Offshore Partners had a return on equity of 6.36% and a net margin of 4.92%. Equities research analysts anticipate that KNOT Offshore Partners will post 0.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KNOT Offshore Partners news, Director Trygve Seglem purchased 1,250,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $25,000,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 1,458,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,166,660. This trade represents a 600.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KNOT Offshore Partners

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KNOP. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in KNOT Offshore Partners by 8.8% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in KNOT Offshore Partners in the first quarter valued at $643,000. American Beacon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in KNOT Offshore Partners by 182.6% during the fourth quarter. American Beacon Advisors Inc. now owns 503,895 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $5,215,000 after acquiring an additional 325,588 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada acquired a new position in KNOT Offshore Partners during the first quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners during the fourth quarter valued at $125,000. 26.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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