Insider Buying: Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) Insider Purchases 1,113 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Insider buying continued: Navios Maritime Partners insider Angeliki Frangou bought 1,113 shares at an average price of $75.48, adding to a recent string of daily purchases over the prior two weeks.
• Strong stock and operating backdrop: NMM traded at $75.53, near its 52-week high of $77.90, and the company recently beat earnings expectations with Q1 EPS of $3.40 versus $2.41 estimated and revenue of $365.55 million versus $316.00 million expected.
• Dividend and analyst sentiment improved: The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.06 from $0.05, and analysts currently have a consensus Buy rating with an average price target of $85.00.

Navios Maritime Partners LP (NYSE:NMM - Get Free Report) insider Angeliki Frangou acquired 1,113 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $75.48 per share, with a total value of $84,009.24. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,727,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $356,822,642.40. This represents a 0.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Angeliki Frangou also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, May 19th, Angeliki Frangou acquired 1,160 shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $73.24 per share, with a total value of $84,958.40.
• On Monday, May 18th, Angeliki Frangou acquired 1,163 shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $71.85 per share, with a total value of $83,561.55.
• On Friday, May 15th, Angeliki Frangou acquired 1,172 shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $70.93 per share, with a total value of $83,129.96.
• On Thursday, May 14th, Angeliki Frangou acquired 1,169 shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $71.61 per share, with a total value of $83,712.09.
• On Wednesday, May 13th, Angeliki Frangou acquired 1,134 shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $72.69 per share, with a total value of $82,430.46.
• On Tuesday, May 12th, Angeliki Frangou bought 1,138 shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $72.99 per share, with a total value of $83,062.62.
• On Monday, May 11th, Angeliki Frangou bought 1,111 shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $73.85 per share, with a total value of $82,047.35.
• On Friday, May 8th, Angeliki Frangou bought 1,164 shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $74.62 per share, with a total value of $86,857.68.
• On Thursday, May 7th, Angeliki Frangou bought 1,135 shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $72.49 per share, with a total value of $82,276.15.
• On Wednesday, May 6th, Angeliki Frangou bought 1,086 shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $74.77 per share, with a total value of $81,200.22.

Navios Maritime Partners Stock Performance

NMM stock traded up $0.68 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $75.53. The stock had a trading volume of 138,476 shares, compared to its average volume of 135,390. The stock has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 7.86 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.12. Navios Maritime Partners LP has a 52-week low of $36.62 and a 52-week high of $77.90.

Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The shipping company reported $3.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.99. The company had revenue of $365.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.00 million. Navios Maritime Partners had a return on equity of 9.17% and a net margin of 21.23%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.61 EPS.

Navios Maritime Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.06 dividend. This is a positive change from Navios Maritime Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Navios Maritime Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navios Maritime Partners

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NMM. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Navios Maritime Partners by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 599 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in Navios Maritime Partners during the first quarter worth $63,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Navios Maritime Partners during the fourth quarter worth $137,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Navios Maritime Partners during the fourth quarter worth $207,000. Finally, Mariner LLC acquired a new position in Navios Maritime Partners during the fourth quarter worth $208,000. 62.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NMM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Navios Maritime Partners in a research note on Friday, April 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Navios Maritime Partners from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Navios Maritime Partners from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $85.00.

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.

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