Costamare Inc. (NYSE:CMRE) Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Costamare Inc. (NYSE:CMRE – Free Report) by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,177 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,092 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Costamare were worth $930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CMRE. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costamare by 6.1% during the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 21,659 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Costamare by 577.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 76,309 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,200,000 after acquiring an additional 65,040 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Costamare by 291.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 59,016 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $928,000 after purchasing an additional 43,925 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Costamare during the third quarter worth $213,000. Finally, Zacks Investment Management grew its position in shares of Costamare by 14.6% in the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 18,988 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 2,420 shares during the period. 58.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Costamare in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Costamare from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd.

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Costamare Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of CMRE opened at $13.02 on Friday. Costamare Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $10.14 and a fifty-two week high of $17.58. The company’s fifty day moving average is $13.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.21. The firm has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Costamare (NYSE:CMRE – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The shipping company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.04. Costamare had a return on equity of 14.28% and a net margin of 19.11%. The firm had revenue of $544.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $434.13 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Costamare Inc. will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Costamare Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Costamare’s payout ratio is currently 15.28%.