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

Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Navios Maritime Partners Stock Performance

NYSE:NMM traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.61. 127,334 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 172,594. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $43.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.98. Navios Maritime Partners has a one year low of $32.82 and a one year high of $65.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.93.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Navios Maritime Partners

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ion Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 81.9% in the fourth quarter. Ion Asset Management Ltd. now owns 805,678 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $34,878,000 after acquiring an additional 362,678 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 1.6% in the third quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 762,929 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $47,782,000 after acquiring an additional 12,094 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 160,834 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $6,963,000 after acquiring an additional 44,576 shares during the period. Natixis boosted its stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Natixis now owns 124,727 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,399,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 76,031 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,291,000 after acquiring an additional 1,901 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.