Costamare (NYSE:CMRE) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Costamare Inc. (NYSE:CMRE) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $14.95 and last traded at $14.64, with a volume of 98484 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on CMRE shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Costamare from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Costamare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Costamare in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.00.

Costamare Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $12.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.68. The company has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 1.38.

Costamare (NYSE:CMRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The shipping company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $195.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.92 million. Costamare had a net margin of 17.10% and a return on equity of 13.67%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Costamare Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costamare Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 21st were paid a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 21st. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Costamare’s payout ratio is 18.40%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costamare

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CMRE. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Costamare by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 67,268 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $662,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costamare in the first quarter valued at $304,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Costamare in the first quarter valued at about $274,000. Navellier & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costamare by 8.6% in the first quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 25,382 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 2,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Costamare during the 1st quarter worth about $199,000. 58.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costamare Company Profile