Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) Stock Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Navios Maritime Partners LP (NYSE:NMM) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $62.90 and traded as high as $72.29. Navios Maritime Partners shares last traded at $71.56, with a volume of 78,891 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Navios Maritime Partners from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Navios Maritime Partners from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Navios Maritime Partners in a report on Friday, April 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.00.

Navios Maritime Partners Stock Up 0.2%

The company has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50-day moving average is $71.04 and its 200-day moving average is $62.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The shipping company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.58. The company had revenue of $357.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $317.80 million. Navios Maritime Partners had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 10.48%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share.

Navios Maritime Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is an increase from Navios Maritime Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Navios Maritime Partners’s payout ratio is currently 2.02%.

Insider Activity at Navios Maritime Partners

In related news, insider Angeliki Frangou bought 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $72.14 per share, with a total value of $83,393.84. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 4,737,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $341,780,275.04. This trade represents a 0.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have bought a total of 54,003 shares of company stock worth $3,850,238 over the last three months.

Institutional Trading of Navios Maritime Partners

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NMM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Navios Maritime Partners by 64.6% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,844 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $672,000 after acquiring an additional 7,006 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $580,000. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $212,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 25.4% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,706 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 1,559 shares during the period. Finally, Ion Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ion Asset Management Ltd. now owns 817,963 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $30,821,000 after buying an additional 17,285 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.74% of the company’s stock.

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.