KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. B. Riley Financial upgraded KNOT Offshore Partners from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Fearnley Fonds raised shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.00.

KNOT Offshore Partners Stock Performance

NYSE:KNOP opened at $10.97 on Monday. 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 has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $369.32 million, a PE ratio of 20.32 and a beta of -0.05. KNOT Offshore Partners has a 52-week low of $6.76 and a 52-week high of $11.78.

KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The shipping company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $92.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.35 million. KNOT Offshore Partners had a return on equity of 6.36% and a net margin of 4.92%. Analysts forecast that KNOT Offshore Partners will post 0.14 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Trygve Seglem acquired 1,250,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.00 per share, with a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KNOT Offshore Partners

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada purchased a new position in KNOT Offshore Partners during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners by 115.0% during the second 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 purchased a new stake in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners during the second quarter valued at $68,000. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners during the fourth quarter valued at $125,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners in the fourth quarter worth about $138,000. 26.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.