Costamare Inc. (NYSE:CMRE) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Costamare Inc. (NYSE:CMRE) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,210,000 shares, a drop of 9.4% from the November 15th total of 2,440,000 shares. Currently, 5.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 320,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.9 days.

Costamare Stock Performance

Shares of CMRE traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $12.95. 189,397 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 472,481. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.50. The company has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 1.34. Costamare has a twelve month low of $9.68 and a twelve month high of $17.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Costamare (NYSE:CMRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The shipping company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.04. Costamare had a net margin of 19.11% and a return on equity of 14.28%. The business had revenue of $544.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $434.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Costamare will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Costamare Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were given a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. Costamare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on CMRE. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of Costamare in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costamare from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costamare

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMRE. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costamare by 1,322.0% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,469,697 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $24,119,000 after acquiring an additional 1,366,344 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Costamare by 25,731.0% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 401,414 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $6,595,000 after purchasing an additional 399,860 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Costamare by 985.5% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 357,557 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,875,000 after purchasing an additional 324,618 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costamare in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,032,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costamare by 62.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 621,764 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,216,000 after buying an additional 239,970 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.08% of the company’s stock.

Costamare Company Profile