Short Interest in Costamare Inc. (NYSE:CMRE) Increases By 21.2%

Costamare Inc. (NYSE:CMRE) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 806,500 shares, a growth of 21.2% from the April 30th total of 665,200 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 550,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Costamare Stock Performance

CMRE opened at $8.65 on Thursday. 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 company has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $8.82 and a 200-day moving average of $10.79. Costamare has a 52-week low of $6.63 and a 52-week high of $17.58.

Costamare (NYSE:CMRE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The shipping company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.09. Costamare had a return on equity of 14.03% and a net margin of 15.14%. The firm had revenue of $440.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $330.14 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Costamare will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costamare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th were issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.32%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. Costamare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Costamare during the 1st quarter worth $244,000. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Costamare by 156.9% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 200,984 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,978,000 after purchasing an additional 122,737 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Costamare by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 614,482 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $6,047,000 after purchasing an additional 12,420 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Costamare by 42.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 479,822 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $4,721,000 after buying an additional 142,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its holdings in Costamare by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 19,064 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $188,000 after buying an additional 2,267 shares during the last quarter. 58.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on shares of Costamare in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective on shares of Costamare in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th.

Costamare Company Profile