Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) Insider Purchases $82,531.60 in Stock

Key Points

• Insider buying: CEO Angeliki Frangou made multiple purchases in April (including 1,145 shares on Apr 28 at $72.08 for $82,531.60), bringing her direct ownership to 4,709,005 shares valued at about $339.4M (a 0.02% increase).
• Dividend increase: Navios raised its quarterly dividend to $0.06 (ex-dividend date May 11), equal to an annualized $0.24 and a roughly 0.3% yield.
• Fundamentals and analyst sentiment: The company beat EPS and revenue estimates (reported $3.40 EPS vs $2.41 expected), has positive analyst coverage including a Jefferies $85 target, and the stock trades around $70.93 near its 52-week high of $74.21.

Navios Maritime Partners LP (NYSE:NMM - Get Free Report) insider Angeliki Frangou acquired 1,145 shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $72.08 per share, with a total value of $82,531.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 4,709,005 shares in the company, valued at $339,425,080.40. This trade represents a 0.02% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

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

• On Wednesday, April 29th, Angeliki Frangou acquired 1,159 shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $71.72 per share, with a total value of $83,123.48.
• On Monday, April 27th, Angeliki Frangou acquired 1,185 shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $71.44 per share, with a total value of $84,656.40.
• On Friday, April 24th, Angeliki Frangou acquired 1,196 shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $70.39 per share, with a total value of $84,186.44.
• On Thursday, April 23rd, Angeliki Frangou acquired 1,187 shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $70.22 per share, with a total value of $83,351.14.
• On Wednesday, April 22nd, Angeliki Frangou acquired 1,214 shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $69.58 per share, with a total value of $84,470.12.
• On Monday, April 20th, Angeliki Frangou acquired 1,190 shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $70.30 per share, with a total value of $83,657.00.
• On Friday, April 17th, Angeliki Frangou bought 1,201 shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $70.39 per share, with a total value of $84,538.39.
• On Tuesday, April 14th, Angeliki Frangou bought 1,192 shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $70.39 per share, with a total value of $83,904.88.
• On Thursday, April 16th, Angeliki Frangou bought 1,199 shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $69.71 per share, with a total value of $83,582.29.
• On Wednesday, April 15th, Angeliki Frangou bought 1,201 shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $70.23 per share, with a total value of $84,346.23.

Navios Maritime Partners Price Performance

Shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock traded down $0.97 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $70.93. 93,686 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 158,642. The company has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.38 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.51. Navios Maritime Partners LP has a fifty-two week low of $33.20 and a fifty-two week high of $74.21.

Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $365.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $316.00 million. Navios Maritime Partners had a net margin of 21.23% and a return on equity of 9.17%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.61 EPS.

Navios Maritime Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This is an increase from Navios Maritime Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Navios Maritime Partners's dividend payout ratio is 2.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navios Maritime Partners

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Navios Maritime Partners by 95.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 34,884 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $1,572,000 after acquiring an additional 17,040 shares in the last quarter. Arbiter Partners Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Navios Maritime Partners in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,117,000. ING Groep NV increased its position in Navios Maritime Partners by 123.6% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 96,600 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $4,352,000 after acquiring an additional 53,400 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in Navios Maritime Partners by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 92,682 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $4,175,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 599 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.74% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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