Costamare (NYSE:CMRE) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Costamare (NYSE:CMRE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Thursday morning.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of Costamare in a report on Wednesday, February 5th.

Costamare Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of CMRE stock opened at $10.23 on Thursday. Costamare has a fifty-two week low of $9.66 and a fifty-two week high of $17.58. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $11.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.65.

Costamare (NYSE:CMRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The shipping company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.03. Costamare had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 14.03%. Equities research analysts predict that Costamare will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costamare Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were given a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.50%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. Costamare’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costamare

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CMRE. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Costamare by 1,385.2% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 11,837 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $186,000 after buying an additional 11,040 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Costamare by 37.2% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 292,879 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $4,604,000 after acquiring an additional 79,381 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Costamare by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 59,177 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $930,000 after acquiring an additional 15,092 shares in the last quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costamare during the 3rd quarter worth about $332,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Costamare by 9.7% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 160,579 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,524,000 after purchasing an additional 14,198 shares during the last quarter. 58.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costamare Company Profile