Two Sigma Advisers LP Cuts Holdings in Costamare Inc. (NYSE:CMRE)

Two Sigma Advisers LP cut its stake in shares of Costamare Inc. (NYSE:CMRE - Free Report) by 35.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 120,500 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 66,700 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned approximately 0.10% of Costamare worth $1,548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Costamare by 4.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,064 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Costamare by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 32,113 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141 shares during the period. Kendall Capital Management boosted its stake in Costamare by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 242,374 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $3,115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,370 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Costamare by 3.2% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Costamare by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,909 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. 58.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CMRE. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $13.00 price target on shares of Costamare in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on shares of Costamare in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock.

Costamare Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of CMRE traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $8.69. The stock had a trading volume of 95,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 464,731. Costamare Inc. has a 1 year low of $6.63 and a 1 year high of $17.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The stock's 50 day moving average is $8.85 and its 200 day moving average is $10.80. The firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Costamare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th were given a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.30%. Costamare's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.85%.

Costamare Profile