Insider Buying: KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) Director Purchases 2,083,333 Shares of Company Stock

Key Points

• Director Trygve Seglem bought 2,083,333 shares at $20.88 each, a purchase totaling about $43.5 million. The transaction increased his stake by 142.86% to approximately 3.54 million shares.
• KNOT Offshore Partners raised its quarterly dividend from $0.075 to $0.10 per share, equivalent to $0.40 annually and a 4.6% yield at the cited share price.
• Shares traded at $8.75 in Wednesday midday trading, near their 12-month low of $8.06. Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with a $14 target price.

KNOT Offshore Partners LP (NYSE:KNOP - Get Free Report) Director Trygve Seglem purchased 2,083,333 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.88 per share, for a total transaction of $43,499,993.04. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 3,541,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $73,949,986.08. This represents a 142.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

KNOT Offshore Partners Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KNOP traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $8.75. The company had a trading volume of 61,741 shares, compared to its average volume of 86,665. The firm has a market capitalization of $294.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88 and a beta of -0.01. KNOT Offshore Partners LP has a twelve month low of $8.06 and a twelve month high of $11.78. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The shipping company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter. KNOT Offshore Partners had a net margin of 3.90% and a return on equity of 5.73%. The company had revenue of $96.78 million for the quarter. Equities research analysts anticipate that KNOT Offshore Partners LP will post 0.22 earnings per share for the current year.

KNOT Offshore Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 12th. Investors of record on Monday, October 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This is a boost from KNOT Offshore Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.0750. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 26th. KNOT Offshore Partners's payout ratio is presently 90.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research raised KNOT Offshore Partners from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of KNOT Offshore Partners in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, KNOT Offshore Partners has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $14.00.

Institutional Trading of KNOT Offshore Partners

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 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 worth $13,461,000 after buying an additional 108,400 shares during the last quarter. American Beacon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in KNOT Offshore Partners by 71.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Beacon Advisors Inc. now owns 865,554 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $8,638,000 after buying an additional 361,659 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners during the 1st quarter valued at about $643,000. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners during the 1st quarter valued at about $259,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada acquired a new position in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.82% of the company's stock.

About KNOT Offshore Partners

KNOT Offshore Partners LP NYSE: KNOP is a publicly traded limited partnership that owns and operates shuttle tankers. These specialized vessels transport crude oil from offshore production facilities and loading terminals to onshore refineries, storage facilities and other destinations.

The partnership's vessels are generally employed under long-term or medium-term charter contracts with major oil and gas companies. Shuttle tankers are equipped with systems designed for offshore loading and unloading, including dynamic positioning and specialized bow-loading technology, enabling them to operate in demanding offshore environments.

KNOT Offshore Partners was formed by its sponsor, KNOT Offshore Partners AS, which is part of the KNOT group, a maritime organization associated with Knutsen OAS Shipping and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha.

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