Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Navios Maritime Partners from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th.

Navios Maritime Partners Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:NMM opened at $42.35 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.95. Navios Maritime Partners has a 1 year low of $26.81 and a 1 year high of $65.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $52.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.03.

Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The shipping company reported $3.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.80 by ($0.65). Navios Maritime Partners had a return on equity of 13.66% and a net margin of 30.48%. The business had revenue of $340.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $326.32 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.68 earnings per share. Navios Maritime Partners’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Navios Maritime Partners will post 12.37 EPS for the current year.

Navios Maritime Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Navios Maritime Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 1.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navios Maritime Partners

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 1.7% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 131,707 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $6,721,000 after purchasing an additional 2,169 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 870.2% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 126,709 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $6,463,000 after acquiring an additional 113,649 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 2,977.2% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 750,835 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $38,315,000 after acquiring an additional 726,435 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its stake in Navios Maritime Partners by 37.2% during the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 71,280 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,637,000 after purchasing an additional 19,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. acquired a new position in Navios Maritime Partners in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,375,000. 62.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.