Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Navios Maritime Partners LP (NYSE:NMM)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $83.04 and last traded at $82.7950, with a volume of 50585 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $81.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NMM has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Navios Maritime Partners from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Navios Maritime Partners in a research note on Friday, April 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.00.

Navios Maritime Partners Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a PE ratio of 6.97 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 1.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $75.40 and its 200-day moving average is $70.82.

Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The shipping company reported $3.35 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $357.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.80 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.58 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Navios Maritime Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Navios Maritime Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.02%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Angeliki Frangou purchased 1,062 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $79.16 per share, for a total transaction of $84,067.92. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 4,790,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,247,723.16. This represents a 0.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 60,173 shares of company stock worth $4,466,123.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navios Maritime Partners

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ion Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 2.2% in the second quarter. Ion Asset Management Ltd. now owns 817,963 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $30,821,000 after buying an additional 17,285 shares in the last quarter. ION Fund Management Ltd acquired a new position in Navios Maritime Partners during the 4th quarter worth about $24,432,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Navios Maritime Partners by 57.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 199,141 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $13,438,000 after acquiring an additional 72,754 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Navios Maritime Partners by 45,274.3% during the 1st quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 149,527 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,090,000 after acquiring an additional 149,858 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV grew its position in Navios Maritime Partners by 51.7% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 146,500 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,681,000 after acquiring an additional 49,900 shares in 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.