Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Shares of Navios Maritime Partners LP (NYSE:NMM) saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday . 256,210 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 63% from the previous session’s volume of 157,456 shares.The stock last traded at $62.6080 and had previously closed at $65.67.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NMM. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Navios Maritime Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, February 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Navios Maritime Partners in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Navios Maritime Partners Stock Down 4.3%

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $1.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.57 and a beta of 1.31.

Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The shipping company reported $3.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.99. The firm had revenue of $365.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.00 million. Navios Maritime Partners had a net margin of 21.23% and a return on equity of 9.28%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.61 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Navios Maritime Partners LP will post 12.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Navios Maritime Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Navios Maritime Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.08%.

Institutional Trading of Navios Maritime Partners

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Navios Maritime Partners in the fourth quarter valued at about $207,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners during the 4th quarter valued at about $329,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Navios Maritime Partners in the 4th quarter worth approximately $368,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Navios Maritime Partners in the 4th quarter worth approximately $572,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Navios Maritime Partners in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,507,000. Institutional investors own 62.74% of the company’s stock.

About Navios Maritime Partners

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.