KNOT Offshore Partners LP (NYSE:KNOP) Short Interest Up 6.4% in January

KNOT Offshore Partners LP (NYSE:KNOP - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 254,300 shares, an increase of 6.4% from the January 15th total of 238,900 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 86,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KNOT Offshore Partners

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 189,461 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 2,418 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 300,800 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $1,639,000 after buying an additional 22,300 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners by 123.5% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 141,503 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $771,000 after buying an additional 78,194 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 13,589 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 1,865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 683 Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KNOT Offshore Partners by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. 683 Capital Management LLC now owns 1,610,000 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $8,774,000 after buying an additional 39,800 shares during the last quarter. 26.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KNOT Offshore Partners Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of KNOP traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $5.42. 99,310 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 67,206. The company has a market cap of $185.91 million, a PE ratio of -12.60 and a beta of 0.75. KNOT Offshore Partners has a 52 week low of $4.94 and a 52 week high of $9.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The shipping company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.07). KNOT Offshore Partners had a negative return on equity of 0.29% and a negative net margin of 4.82%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that KNOT Offshore Partners will post 0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KNOT Offshore Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 27th were paid a dividend of $0.026 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 27th. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. KNOT Offshore Partners's dividend payout ratio is currently -23.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised KNOT Offshore Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th.

KNOT Offshore Partners Company Profile

KNOT Offshore Partners LP acquires, owns, and operates shuttle tankers under long-term charters in the North Sea and Brazil. The company provides loading, transportation, and discharge of crude oil under time charters and bareboat charters. The company was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Aberdeen, the United Kingdom.