Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) Sets New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Navios Maritime Partners hit a new 52-week high after Jefferies raised its price target from $85 to $100 and maintained a Buy rating. The stock reached $89.81, while the overall analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with a $100 target.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.65 beating estimates of $4.35 and revenue of $410.17 million exceeding forecasts. Revenue rose 25.2% year over year, while EPS more than doubled from the prior-year quarter.
• Insider and institutional buying provided additional support: insiders purchased nearly $4.3 million of shares over the past 90 days, and institutional investors own 62.74% of the stock. Weiss Ratings, however, separately downgraded the shares from Buy to Hold.

Navios Maritime Partners LP (NYSE:NMM - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Monday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from $85.00 to $100.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Navios Maritime Partners traded as high as $89.81 and last traded at $88.8750, with a volume of 25027 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $88.78.

Separately, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Navios Maritime Partners from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. One 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Angeliki Frangou purchased 1,062 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $79.16 per share, for a total transaction of $84,067.92. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 4,790,901 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $379,247,723.16. The trade was a 0.02% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders bought 57,950 shares of company stock worth $4,297,068 over the last 90 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 18,381 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $1,288,000 after buying an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 74.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,911 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $736,000 after acquiring an additional 4,644 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 57.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 199,141 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $13,438,000 after acquiring an additional 72,754 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. bought a new stake in Navios Maritime Partners in the first quarter valued at about $1,889,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC raised its position in Navios Maritime Partners by 45,274.3% in the first quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 149,527 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $10,090,000 after purchasing an additional 149,858 shares in the last quarter. 62.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Navios Maritime Partners Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company's 50-day moving average is $76.14 and its 200-day moving average is $71.36.

Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The shipping company reported $4.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.35 by $0.30. Navios Maritime Partners had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 30.27%.The company had revenue of $410.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $360.83 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.15 EPS. The company's revenue was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Navios Maritime Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. Navios Maritime Partners's payout ratio is currently 1.57%.

Navios Maritime Partners Company Profile

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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