Bank of America Corp DE Grows Position in Navios Maritime Partners LP $NMM

Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Navios Maritime Partners LP (NYSE:NMM) by 57.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 199,141 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 72,754 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE’s holdings in Navios Maritime Partners were worth $13,438,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NMM. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Navios Maritime Partners by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 599 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners during the 1st quarter valued at about $63,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners during the 4th quarter valued at about $137,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners during the 4th quarter valued at about $207,000. Finally, Mariner LLC bought a new position in shares of Navios Maritime Partners in the 4th quarter worth approximately $208,000. 62.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on NMM. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Navios Maritime Partners in a research report on Friday, April 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Navios Maritime Partners from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.00.

Navios Maritime Partners Trading Up 3.8%

Shares of NMM stock opened at $88.60 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $76.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.28. Navios Maritime Partners LP has a 12-month low of $43.02 and a 12-month high of $89.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick 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, August 20th. The shipping company reported $4.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $410.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $360.83 million. Navios Maritime Partners had a net margin of 30.27% and a return on equity of 12.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.15 EPS.

Navios Maritime Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Navios Maritime Partners’s payout ratio is 2.02%.

Key Navios Maritime Partners News

Here are the key news stories impacting Navios Maritime Partners this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Results exceeded expectations: Q2 earnings were $4.65 per common unit, ahead of the $4.35 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $410.2 million versus expectations of $360.8 million. Revenue increased 25.2% year over year, and net income was $167.9 million. Navios Maritime Partners Q2 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Buyback supports investor confidence: Navios Partners introduced a new program to repurchase its common units, potentially providing support for the unit price and signaling that management views the units as attractively valued. Why Navios Maritime Partners Is Up After Q2 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Fleet expansion: The company agreed to acquire three very large crude carriers for approximately $361 million, expanding its tanker exposure and potentially increasing future cash flow capacity. Navios Maritime Buys Three New VLCCs
• Neutral Sentiment: The fleet purchase requires significant capital and adds exposure to tanker-market rates, vessel values and broader global shipping conditions. Management’s earnings-call materials provide additional details on the acquisition and operating outlook. Navios Maritime Partners Q2 Earnings Call Transcript

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Angeliki Frangou purchased 1,062 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $79.16 per share, for a total transaction of $84,067.92. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 57,950 shares of company stock worth $4,297,068.

Navios Maritime Partners 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.