KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) Rating Increased to Buy at B. Riley Financial

Key Points

• B. Riley Financial upgraded KNOT Offshore Partners from "neutral" to "buy" and set a $14 price target, implying roughly a 50.21% upside from the current share price.
• Despite the upgrade, the analyst consensus remains a "Hold" (one Buy and four Holds) with MarketBeat showing an average target of $14.00.
• Shares traded at $9.32 (down $0.92) with a P/E of 6.01 and market cap of about $319.7M, and several institutional investors (including Renaissance, Millennium, Jane Street, Trexquant and XTX) recently added or initiated positions, leaving 26.82% owned by institutions.

KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at B. Riley Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Friday. The brokerage presently has a $14.00 price target on the shipping company's stock. B. Riley Financial's target price points to a potential upside of 50.21% from the stock's current price.

Several other brokerages have also commented on KNOP. Alliance Global Partners reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of KNOT Offshore Partners in a report on Monday, December 8th. Zacks Research downgraded KNOT Offshore Partners from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of KNOT Offshore Partners in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $14.00.

KNOT Offshore Partners Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KNOP traded down $0.92 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $9.32. 582,294 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 108,902. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $319.68 million, a PE ratio of 6.01 and a beta of -0.12. KNOT Offshore Partners has a one year low of $5.45 and a one year high of $11.15. The company's 50 day moving average is $10.49 and its 200 day moving average is $9.86.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners in the fourth quarter worth about $313,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,227,035 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $12,700,000 after purchasing an additional 32,369 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in KNOT Offshore Partners by 56.5% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 145,483 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,506,000 after buying an additional 52,538 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners during the 4th quarter valued at $520,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners during the fourth quarter valued at about $277,000. 26.82% of the stock is currently 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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