KNOT Offshore Partners LP (NYSE:KNOP) Short Interest Down 38.8% in June

Key Points

• Short interest in KNOT Offshore Partners fell sharply in June, dropping 38.8% to 138,382 shares by June 30. That leaves just 0.4% of the company’s stock shorted, with a days-to-cover ratio of 1.4 days.
• Recent analyst sentiment has been mixed to cautious, with multiple downgrades from Weiss Ratings, Zacks, and Wall Street Zen. The stock’s consensus rating remains Hold, with a consensus price target of $14.00.
• The company boosted its quarterly dividend to $0.075 per share, up from $0.05 previously, for an annualized yield of 2.8%. This comes after KNOT Offshore Partners reported earnings of $0.08 per share for the quarter, below analyst expectations.

KNOT Offshore Partners LP (NYSE:KNOP - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 138,382 shares, a decline of 38.8% from the June 15th total of 226,089 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 100,507 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KNOP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. B. Riley Financial upgraded shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Fearnley Fonds upgraded KNOT Offshore Partners from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $14.00.

Insider Activity at KNOT Offshore Partners

In other news, Director Trygve Seglem acquired 1,250,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the acquisition, the director owned 1,458,333 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,166,660. This represents a 600.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KNOT Offshore Partners

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners in the first quarter worth about $130,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in KNOT Offshore Partners by 115.0% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 9,042 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 4,836 shares during the period. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP acquired a new stake in KNOT Offshore Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in KNOT Offshore Partners by 220.3% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 16,557 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 11,388 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV bought a new position in KNOT Offshore Partners in the 4th quarter worth approximately $205,000. 26.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KNOT Offshore Partners Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of KNOP stock opened at $10.73 on Thursday. KNOT Offshore Partners has a 12 month low of $6.76 and a 12 month high of $11.78. The company has a market cap of $361.34 million, a PE ratio of 19.88 and a beta of -0.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The business's 50 day moving average is $10.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.50.

KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). KNOT Offshore Partners had a return on equity of 6.36% and a net margin of 4.92%.The firm had revenue of $92.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.35 million. Equities analysts predict that KNOT Offshore Partners will post 0.09 EPS for the current year.

KNOT Offshore Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 27th will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 27th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from KNOT Offshore Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. KNOT Offshore Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.04%.

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.

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