Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) Shares Up 5.5% - Time to Buy?

Navios Maritime Partners L.P. (NYSE:NMM - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 5.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $40.69 and last traded at $41.19. 192,578 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 20% from the average session volume of 160,821 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.03.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded Navios Maritime Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th.

Navios Maritime Partners Stock Down 2.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.40. The company's fifty day moving average price is $36.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.40.

Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The shipping company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.04). Navios Maritime Partners had a net margin of 27.53% and a return on equity of 11.64%. The company had revenue of $274.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $254.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.32 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Navios Maritime Partners L.P. will post 12.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Navios Maritime Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Navios Maritime Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 1.82%.

Institutional Trading of Navios Maritime Partners

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NMM. Ion Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 81.9% in the 4th quarter. Ion Asset Management Ltd. now owns 805,678 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $34,878,000 after buying an additional 362,678 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV raised its stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 446.2% during the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 71,000 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $3,074,000 after acquiring an additional 58,000 shares in the last quarter. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 497.6% in the 1st quarter. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC now owns 60,000 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $2,353,000 after buying an additional 49,960 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 160,834 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $6,963,000 after buying an additional 44,576 shares during the period. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 41.4% in the 1st quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 78,684 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $3,086,000 after purchasing an additional 23,054 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.74% of the company's stock.

Navios Maritime Partners Company Profile

Navios Maritime Partners L.P. owns and operates dry cargo vessels in Asia, Europe, North America, and Australia. The company offers seaborne transportation services for a range of liquid and dry cargo commodities, including crude oil, refined petroleum, chemicals, iron ore, coal, grain, fertilizer, and containers, as well as charters its vessels under short, medium, and longer-term charters.