Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Navios Maritime Partners shares gapped higher, opening at $96.60 versus a prior close of $93.06, and last traded near $96.41.
• Analysts remain bullish: Jefferies raised its price target to $100, while the consensus rating is “Buy” with an average target of $100.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.65 beating estimates and revenue rising 25.2% year over year to $410.17 million; insiders and institutional investors have also been buying shares.

Navios Maritime Partners LP (NYSE:NMM - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday. The stock had previously closed at $93.06, but opened at $96.60. Navios Maritime Partners shares last traded at $96.41, with a volume of 5,814 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NMM has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Navios Maritime Partners from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Navios Maritime Partners from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating. According to MarketBeat.com, Navios Maritime Partners has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $100.00.

Navios Maritime Partners Stock Up 0.5%

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.53. The company has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.32 and a beta of 1.05.

Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The shipping company reported $4.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.35 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $410.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $360.83 million. Navios Maritime Partners had a return on equity of 12.24% and a net margin of 30.27%. The company's revenue was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.15 EPS.

Navios Maritime Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Navios Maritime Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 1.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Navios Maritime Partners

In other news, insider Angeliki Frangou acquired 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 4,790,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,247,723.16. This represents a 0.02% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders acquired 18,770 shares of company stock worth $1,457,662 over the last three months.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Navios Maritime Partners

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 57.6% in the first 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. Walleye Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 45,274.3% during the first quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 149,527 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $10,090,000 after acquiring an additional 149,858 shares during the period. Marnell Management LLC purchased a new position in Navios Maritime Partners during the fourth quarter worth about $5,027,000. Sei Investments Co. purchased a new position in Navios Maritime Partners during the first quarter worth about $1,889,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC raised its holdings in Navios Maritime Partners by 2.1% during the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 18,381 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,288,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.74% of the company's stock.

About Navios Maritime Partners

Navios Maritime Partners L.P. NYSE: NMM is a global owner and operator of commercial vessels. The company provides seaborne transportation services for dry bulk commodities, containerized goods and liquid cargoes through a diversified fleet that includes dry bulk carriers, containerships and tanker vessels.

Its vessels transport commodities such as iron ore, grain, coal and other dry bulk materials, as well as petroleum products, chemicals and other liquid cargoes. Navios Maritime Partners serves international trade routes and works with charterers and customers across major shipping markets worldwide.

Navios Maritime Partners was established in 2007 and is part of the broader Navios group of maritime companies.

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