Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Navios Maritime Partners LP (NYSE:NMM) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $61.82 and last traded at $61.07, with a volume of 141195 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.61.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on NMM shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Navios Maritime Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Navios Maritime Partners in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Navios Maritime Partners Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $54.45 and its 200-day moving average is $49.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.00 and a beta of 1.38.

Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 18th. The shipping company reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.28. Navios Maritime Partners had a net margin of 20.04% and a return on equity of 8.69%. The firm had revenue of $346.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $334.64 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.15 earnings per share. Navios Maritime Partners’s revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Navios Maritime Partners LP will post 12.64 EPS for the current year.

Navios Maritime Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. Navios Maritime Partners’s dividend payout ratio is 2.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NMM. Live Oak Investment Partners boosted its position in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Live Oak Investment Partners now owns 32,280 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,692,000 after buying an additional 2,063 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Navios Maritime Partners by 95.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 34,884 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,572,000 after acquiring an additional 17,040 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new position in Navios Maritime Partners in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $639,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings in Navios Maritime Partners by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 92,682 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $4,175,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the period. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Navios Maritime Partners by 92.0% in the third quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 52,109 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,348,000 after acquiring an additional 24,964 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.74% of the company’s stock.

About Navios Maritime Partners

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.