StockNews.com Upgrades Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) to Buy

Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

Navios Maritime Partners Trading Up 1.8 %

Navios Maritime Partners stock opened at $40.05 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.87. Navios Maritime Partners has a 12-month low of $37.75 and a 12-month 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.36.

Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The shipping company reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.54 by ($1.93). Navios Maritime Partners had a return on equity of 11.64% and a net margin of 27.53%. The company had revenue of $302.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $340.83 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Navios Maritime Partners will post 12.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NMM. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,149 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $135,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC bought a new position in Navios Maritime Partners in the 4th quarter valued at about $204,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $219,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,325 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $511,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.74% of the company’s stock.

About Navios Maritime Partners

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.