Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Navios Maritime Partners in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Navios Maritime Partners has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Navios Maritime Partners Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE NMM opened at $68.59 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $57.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Navios Maritime Partners has a 52-week low of $28.37 and a 52-week high of $69.85. The company has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.14 and a beta of 1.38.

Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The shipping company reported $3.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.99. The business had revenue of $365.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.00 million. Navios Maritime Partners had a net margin of 21.23% and a return on equity of 9.28%. Navios Maritime Partners’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.61 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Navios Maritime Partners will post 12.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Navios Maritime Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Navios Maritime Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navios Maritime Partners

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ion Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. ION Fund Management Ltd acquired a new position in Navios Maritime Partners during the fourth quarter worth $24,432,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in Navios Maritime Partners by 1.3% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 158,749 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,152,000 after buying an additional 2,045 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV lifted its stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 51.7% in the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 146,500 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,681,000 after buying an additional 49,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 28.8% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 117,950 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,314,000 after buying an additional 26,340 shares during 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.