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

Costamare Inc. (NYSE:CMRE - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,490,000 shares, a drop of 6.7% from the August 15th total of 2,670,000 shares. Approximately 5.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 576,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Costamare from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Costamare from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Costamare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd.

Costamare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CMRE traded up $0.12 on Wednesday, hitting $13.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 286,886 shares, compared to its average volume of 522,247. The company has a market capitalization of $1.64 billion, a PE ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.62. Costamare has a 1 year low of $8.54 and a 1 year high of $17.58.

Costamare (NYSE:CMRE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.05. Costamare had a net margin of 19.63% and a return on equity of 13.63%. The business had revenue of $515.42 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $380.41 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Costamare will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costamare Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th were given a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 19th. Costamare's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMRE. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in Costamare by 1,322.0% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,469,697 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $24,119,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366,344 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costamare by 25,731.0% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 401,414 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $6,595,000 after buying an additional 399,860 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Costamare by 985.5% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 357,557 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $5,875,000 after buying an additional 324,618 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Costamare by 20.6% in the 1st quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 1,583,997 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $17,978,000 after buying an additional 270,168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Costamare by 62.9% in the second 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. 58.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costamare Company Profile