Costamare (NYSE:CMRE) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Costamare Inc. (NYSE:CMRE)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $8.67 and last traded at $8.87, with a volume of 260438 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $8.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on CMRE shares. StockNews.com downgraded Costamare from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $13.00 price target on shares of Costamare in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th.

Costamare Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.48. The firm has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Costamare (NYSE:CMRE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The shipping company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.03. Costamare had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 14.03%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Costamare Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Costamare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.26%. Costamare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costamare

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CMRE. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Costamare by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 433,995 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $6,822,000 after purchasing an additional 15,983 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Costamare by 261.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 24,763 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 17,921 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Costamare by 141.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 62,773 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $987,000 after buying an additional 36,822 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its stake in Costamare by 157.5% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,275 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 2,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Costamare by 2.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,213,838 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $19,082,000 after buying an additional 30,986 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.08% of the company’s stock.

About Costamare