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 research report sent to investors on Thursday.

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

Costamare Stock Performance

Shares of CMRE opened at $11.83 on Thursday. Costamare has a 1 year low of $10.14 and a 1 year high of $17.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a PE ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.65. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.79.

Costamare (NYSE:CMRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The shipping company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.04. Costamare had a net margin of 19.11% and a return on equity of 14.28%. The company had revenue of $544.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $434.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Costamare will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costamare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Costamare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.28%.

Institutional Trading of Costamare

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Costamare by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 14,262 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Costamare by 6.1% in the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 21,659 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costamare by 1,700.0% during the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Costamare by 157.5% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,275 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 2,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Costamare in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.08% of the company’s stock.

About Costamare