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

Navios Maritime Partners LP (NYSE:NMM) shares 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 traded. The stock had previously closed at $59.61.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NMM shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Navios Maritime Partners in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Navios Maritime Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Navios Maritime Partners Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $54.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.91 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 the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $346.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $334.64 million. Navios Maritime Partners had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 20.04%.Navios Maritime Partners’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.15 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Navios Maritime Partners LP will post 12.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Navios Maritime Partners Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navios Maritime Partners

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aristides Capital LLC acquired a new position in Navios Maritime Partners during the second quarter worth $228,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners in the second quarter valued at about $47,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 10.4% during the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 91,932 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,464,000 after purchasing an additional 8,651 shares in the last quarter. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC raised its position in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC now owns 65,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,449,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Navios Maritime Partners during the 2nd quarter worth about $62,000. 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.