Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) Hits New 1-Year High Following Dividend Announcement

Navios Maritime Partners LP (NYSE:NMM)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $82.84 and last traded at $82.12, with a volume of 33715 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.27.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. Navios Maritime Partners’s payout ratio is currently 2.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on NMM. Weiss Ratings lowered Navios Maritime Partners from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Navios Maritime Partners in a research report on Friday, April 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Navios Maritime Partners currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.00.

Navios Maritime Partners Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.88 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Insider Transactions at Navios Maritime Partners

In other Navios Maritime Partners news, insider Angeliki Frangou acquired 1,208 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $68.88 per share, with a total value of $83,207.04. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 4,757,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $327,691,020.72. The trade was a 0.03% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 66,184 shares of company stock worth $4,852,620.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Navios Maritime Partners

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ION Fund Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Navios Maritime Partners during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,432,000. Walleye Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 45,274.3% in the 1st 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,027,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position 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 buying an additional 72,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Navios Maritime Partners by 150.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 87,535 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $4,589,000 after buying an additional 52,651 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.