Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) Shares Up 3.9%

Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) shares were up 3.9% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $18.69 and last traded at $18.53. Approximately 91,526 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 255,396 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.83.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DCOM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Dime Community Bancshares from $30.00 to $25.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Dime Community Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Raymond James lowered their target price on Dime Community Bancshares from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Dime Community Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.88.

Dime Community Bancshares Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $720.45 million, a PE ratio of 7.79 and a beta of 1.02.

Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The savings and loans company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.09). Dime Community Bancshares had a net margin of 14.89% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The business had revenue of $167.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.01 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Dime Community Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.40%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 16th. Dime Community Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.67%.

Insider Activity

In other Dime Community Bancshares news, Director Basswood Capital Management, L bought 27,068 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.00 per share, for a total transaction of $622,564.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,015,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,350,083. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 10.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dime Community Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 24.5% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,837 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 2,523 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Dime Community Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,016,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,459,856 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $66,244,000 after buying an additional 90,575 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 135,045 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $3,637,000 after buying an additional 5,853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 83,690 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $2,254,000 after buying an additional 3,294 shares in the last quarter. 75.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Dime Community Bancshares

Dime Community Bancshares, Inc operates as the holding company for Dime Community Bank that engages in the provision of various commercial banking and financial services. The company accepts time, savings, and demand deposits from the businesses, consumers, and local municipalities. It also offers commercial real estate loans; multi-family mortgage loans; residential mortgage loans; letters of credit; secured and unsecured commercial and consumer loans; lines of credit; home equity loans; and construction and land loans.