Nuveen LLC Invests $99.48 Million in Costamare Inc. (NYSE:CMRE)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired a significant stake in Costamare Inc., purchasing over 10 million shares valued at approximately $99 million, representing 8.43% of the company.
• Costamare's recent quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, reporting $0.77 EPS and generating revenues of $211.20 million, compared to estimates of $209.72 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.115, yielding approximately 4.2%, with a payout ratio of 19.49%.

Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Costamare Inc. (NYSE:CMRE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,109,996 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $99,482,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 8.43% of Costamare at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Costamare by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 24,596 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 1,064 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costamare by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 32,113 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $413,000 after buying an additional 1,141 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costamare by 2.5% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 67,268 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $662,000 after buying an additional 1,630 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Costamare by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 59,433 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $764,000 after buying an additional 1,832 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Costamare by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,909 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.08% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on Costamare in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company.

Costamare Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:CMRE traded down $0.08 on Friday, reaching $11.12. 507,288 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 596,421. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 1.28. The company's 50 day moving average is $9.68 and its 200-day moving average is $9.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Costamare Inc. has a 1-year low of $6.63 and a 1-year high of $15.96.

Costamare (NYSE:CMRE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $211.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $209.72 million. Costamare had a net margin of 17.10% and a return on equity of 13.67%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costamare Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costamare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st were given a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. Costamare's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.49%.

Costamare Company Profile