Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Navios Maritime Partners LP (NYSE:NMM)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $80.97 and last traded at $80.4650, with a volume of 84060 shares. The stock had previously closed at $76.82.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on NMM shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Navios Maritime Partners in a research note on Friday, April 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Navios Maritime Partners from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Navios Maritime Partners has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.00.

Navios Maritime Partners Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.64 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The shipping company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.58. Navios Maritime Partners had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 10.48%. The company had revenue of $357.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $317.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.58 EPS. Navios Maritime Partners’s quarterly revenue was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Navios Maritime Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. This is an increase from Navios Maritime Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Navios Maritime Partners’s payout ratio is currently 2.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Navios Maritime Partners news, insider Angeliki Frangou purchased 1,105 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $75.58 per share, with a total value of $83,515.90. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 4,768,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,424,619.14. This represents a 0.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders acquired 62,108 shares of company stock worth $4,513,984 in the last three months.

Institutional Trading of Navios Maritime Partners

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ION Fund Management Ltd acquired a new position in Navios Maritime Partners in the fourth quarter valued at $24,432,000. Walleye Capital LLC raised its holdings in Navios Maritime Partners by 45,274.3% during the first quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 149,527 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,090,000 after buying an additional 149,858 shares during the last quarter. Marnell Management LLC bought a new stake in Navios Maritime Partners during the fourth quarter worth $5,027,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Navios Maritime Partners by 57.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 199,141 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $13,438,000 after purchasing an additional 72,754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Navios Maritime Partners by 150.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 87,535 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $4,589,000 after buying an additional 52,651 shares during the last quarter. 62.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Navios Maritime Partners Company Profile

Navios Maritime Partners L.P. (NYSE: NMM) is a dry bulk shipping company that owns and operates a fleet of Capesize, Panamax and Supramax vessels. The partnership charters its vessels under medium- and long-term contracts to a diverse group of charterers, providing seaborne transportation for major bulk cargoes such as iron ore, coal, grain and fertilizers. Through this asset-light model, Navios Maritime Partners seeks to generate stable cash flows while retaining flexibility to capitalize on market opportunities.

Formed in November 2007 and sponsored by Navios Maritime Holdings Inc, the partnership leverages the operating platform and commercial management capabilities of the Navios group.