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Costamare (CMRE) is a Top Dividend Stock Right Now: Should You Buy?

All investors love getting big returns from their portfolio, whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities. However, when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments.

Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and of course, dividends. A dividend is the distribution of a company's earnings paid out to shareholders; it's often viewed by its dividend yield, a metric that measures a dividend as a percent of the current stock price. Many academic studies show that dividends account for significant portions of long-term returns, with dividend contributions exceeding one-third of total returns in many cases.

Costamare in Focus

Based in Monaco, Costamare (CMRE) is in the Transportation sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of -9.01%. The shipping company is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.12 per share, with a dividend yield of 4%. This compares to the Transportation - Shipping industry's yield of 1.04% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.6%.

In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $0.46 is up 7% from last year. Costamare has increased its dividend 1 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 2.73%. Looking ahead, future dividend growth will be dependent on earnings growth and payout ratio, which is the proportion of a company's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Costamare's current payout ratio is 14%, meaning it paid out 14% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Looking at this fiscal year, CMRE expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 is $3.87 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 63.98%.

Bottom Line

Investors like dividends for many reasons; they greatly improve stock investing profits, decrease overall portfolio risk, and carry tax advantages, among others. But, not every company offers a quarterly payout.

High-growth firms or tech start-ups, for example, rarely provide their shareholders a dividend, while larger, more established companies that have more secure profits are often seen as the best dividend options. Income investors must be conscious of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. With that in mind, CMRE is a compelling investment opportunity. Not only is it a strong dividend play, but the stock currently sits at a Zacks Rank of 3 (Hold).


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