Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) Sets New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Navios Maritime Partners LP (NYSE:NMM) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from $85.00 to $100.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Navios Maritime Partners traded as high as $89.81 and last traded at $88.8750, with a volume of 25027 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $88.78.

Separately, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Navios Maritime Partners from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Navios Maritime Partners currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Navios Maritime Partners news, insider Angeliki Frangou bought 1,208 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $68.88 per share, for a total transaction of $83,207.04. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 4,757,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $327,691,020.72. This trade represents a 0.03% 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 a total of 57,950 shares of company stock valued at $4,297,068 over the last quarter.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navios Maritime Partners

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 64.6% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,844 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 7,006 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners in the second quarter valued at approximately $580,000. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners in the second quarter valued at approximately $212,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Navios Maritime Partners by 25.4% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,706 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 1,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ion Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in Navios Maritime Partners by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ion Asset Management Ltd. now owns 817,963 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $30,821,000 after purchasing an additional 17,285 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.74% of the company’s stock.

Navios Maritime Partners Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 1.02.

Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The shipping company reported $4.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.35 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $410.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $360.83 million. Navios Maritime Partners had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 30.27%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.15 EPS.

Navios Maritime Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Navios Maritime Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 1.57%.

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.