Short Interest in KNOT Offshore Partners LP (NYSE:KNOP) Rises By 43.8%
by Teresa Graham · The Cerbat GemKNOT Offshore Partners LP (NYSE:KNOP – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 264,665 shares, a growth of 43.8% from the March 15th total of 184,109 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 224,959 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.
KNOT Offshore Partners Price Performance
Shares of NYSE:KNOP traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $10.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 53,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 121,504. KNOT Offshore Partners has a fifty-two week low of $6.16 and a fifty-two week high of $11.15. The company has a market capitalization of $345.05 million, a P/E ratio of 14.90 and a beta of -0.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.04.
KNOT Offshore Partners Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, April 27th will be given a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 27th. This is a positive change from KNOT Offshore Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. KNOT Offshore Partners’s dividend payout ratio is 29.41%.
Institutional Trading of KNOT Offshore Partners
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KNOP. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in KNOT Offshore Partners in the first quarter worth about $130,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in KNOT Offshore Partners by 115.0% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 9,042 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $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 second quarter worth about $68,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 11,388 shares during the period. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its position in KNOT Offshore Partners by 11.5% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 48,075 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 4,957 shares during the period. 26.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Zacks Research lowered KNOT Offshore Partners from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of KNOT Offshore Partners in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. B. Riley Financial upgraded KNOT Offshore Partners from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered KNOT Offshore Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Fearnley Fonds upgraded KNOT Offshore Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.00.
Read Our Latest Research Report on KNOP
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.