Renaissance Technologies LLC Increases Stake in KNOT Offshore Partners LP $KNOP

Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners LP (NYSE:KNOP) by 8.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,335,435 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 108,400 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in KNOT Offshore Partners were worth $13,461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased 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 worth $58,000 after buying an additional 4,836 shares during the period. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP purchased a new position in KNOT Offshore Partners in the second quarter worth approximately $68,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in KNOT Offshore Partners by 220.3% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 16,557 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 11,388 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new position in KNOT Offshore Partners during the 4th quarter worth approximately $125,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in KNOT Offshore Partners during the 1st quarter worth approximately $130,000. 26.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KNOT Offshore Partners Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KNOP opened at $10.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.25. KNOT Offshore Partners LP has a fifty-two week low of $6.76 and a fifty-two week high of $11.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $363.76 million, a PE ratio of 20.01 and a beta of -0.05. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.50.

KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The shipping company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $92.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.35 million. KNOT Offshore Partners had a return on equity of 6.36% and a net margin of 4.92%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that KNOT Offshore Partners LP will post 0.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KNOT Offshore Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 27th. This is an increase from KNOT Offshore Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. KNOT Offshore Partners’s dividend payout ratio is 55.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KNOP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of KNOT Offshore Partners in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of KNOT Offshore Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, KNOT Offshore Partners currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at KNOT Offshore Partners

In related news, Director Trygve Seglem acquired 1,250,000 shares of KNOT Offshore Partners stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $25,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,458,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,166,660. This represents a 600.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

KNOT Offshore Partners 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.