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

Navios Maritime Partners LP (NYSE:NMM)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $92.70 and last traded at $90.3690, with a volume of 166137 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $92.16.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on NMM. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Navios Maritime Partners from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Navios Maritime Partners in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. One equities research 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, Navios Maritime Partners currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.00.

Navios Maritime Partners Trading Down 1.9%

The stock has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a PE ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $80.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.75.

Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 27th. The shipping company reported $4.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $410.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $360.83 million. Navios Maritime Partners had a net margin of 30.27% and a return on equity of 12.24%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.15 EPS.

Navios Maritime Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders 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 (DPR) is presently 1.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Navios Maritime Partners

In other Navios Maritime Partners news, insider Angeliki Frangou purchased 1,208 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $68.88 per share, with a total value of $83,207.04. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 4,757,419 shares in the company, valued at $327,691,020.72. This trade represents a 0.03% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders acquired a total of 43,993 shares of company stock valued at $3,295,946 in the last three months.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navios Maritime Partners

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Navios Maritime Partners by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 599 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners during the 1st quarter valued at about $63,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners in the fourth quarter worth approximately $137,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners in the fourth quarter worth approximately $207,000. Finally, Mariner LLC purchased a new position in shares of Navios Maritime Partners during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $208,000. 62.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.