StockNews.com Upgrades Costamare (NYSE:CMRE) to “Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Costamare (NYSE:CMRE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $13.00 target price on shares of Costamare in a research note on Friday, November 1st.

Costamare Stock Performance

Shares of Costamare stock opened at $12.10 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Costamare has a 12 month low of $10.14 and a 12 month high of $17.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 1.33.

Costamare (NYSE:CMRE) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The shipping company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $544.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $434.13 million. Costamare had a return on equity of 14.28% and a net margin of 19.11%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Costamare will post 2.79 EPS for the current year.

Costamare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. Costamare’s payout ratio is 15.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costamare

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Costamare by 87.9% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 550,301 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,071,000 after purchasing an additional 257,422 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Costamare by 68.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 12,432 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 5,039 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Costamare by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 23,378 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 1,719 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Costamare by 128.0% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 18,360 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 10,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Costamare by 3.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 339,566 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,338,000 after acquiring an additional 11,076 shares during the period. 58.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Costamare