Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Navios Maritime Partners LP (NYSE:NMM) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $56.67 and last traded at $55.9510, with a volume of 68596 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $55.44.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on NMM shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Navios Maritime Partners in a research 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Navios Maritime Partners Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s 50-day moving average is $52.25 and its 200-day moving average is $47.00.

Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 18th. The shipping company reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.28. Navios Maritime Partners had a net margin of 20.04% and a return on equity of 8.69%. The business had revenue of $346.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $334.64 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Navios Maritime Partners LP will post 12.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Navios Maritime Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. Navios Maritime Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. ING Groep NV raised its stake in Navios Maritime Partners by 123.6% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 96,600 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $4,352,000 after acquiring an additional 53,400 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 28.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 117,950 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,314,000 after purchasing an additional 26,340 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 92.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 52,109 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,348,000 after purchasing an additional 24,964 shares during the last quarter. Arbiter Partners Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,117,000. Finally, Ion Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in Navios Maritime Partners by 2.2% during 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 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.