Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $30.12, but opened at $31.92. Dime Community Bancshares shares last traded at $33.8950, with a volume of 86,496 shares changing hands.

The savings and loans company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.09. Dime Community Bancshares had a net margin of 15.15% and a return on equity of 9.12%. The business had revenue of $123.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $118.14 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS.

Dime Community Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Dime Community Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 87.72%.

Key Stories Impacting Dime Community Bancshares

Here are the key news stories impacting Dime Community Bancshares this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — adjusted diluted EPS of $0.79, record quarterly revenue (~$124M), strong year-over-year turnaround in net income and meaningful core deposit and business loan growth. Management highlighted a sizable loan-repricing opportunity through 2027 and improved asset quality. Dime Community Bancshares Inc Reports Strong Fourth Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts lifted targets and reiterated buys — Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its target to $40 (outperform) and DA Davidson raised its target to $39 (buy), signaling continued analyst confidence and providing near-term upside vs. the prior price. DA Davidson price target raise (coverage)
• Positive Sentiment: Operational improvements — net interest margin expanded to ~3.11% and the adjusted efficiency ratio improved to ~50.3% (Q4), suggesting sustainable NII and cost control tailwinds if management executes. These dynamics support earnings momentum. Dime Q4 results and metrics
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly preferred dividend declared for Series A ($0.34375/share) — routine cash dividend for preferred holders; limited direct impact on common-share valuation but confirms commitment to preferred investors. Dime Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend for Series A Preferred Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Positive coverage and deep-dive pieces discuss valuation after the share rally — useful for assessing whether current price reflects the improved fundamentals or already discounts them. (See Yahoo/finance coverage.) DCOM Q4 Deep Dive: Organic Growth and Deposit Gains
• Negative Sentiment: Rising operating costs and higher provisions — non-interest expense increased year-over-year (adjusted costs still higher vs. some prior periods) and the provision for credit losses remained material; these could pressure future margins if expense growth continues or credit stress re-emerges. Dime Q4 expense and provision details
• Negative Sentiment: CRE concentration remains elevated despite improvements — the consolidated CRE concentration ratio was reduced but still high (~387%), a point investors will watch given commercial real estate risks. CRE concentration and credit quality discussion
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling activity noted — disclosures show insider sales in the past six months, which can be a cautionary signal for some investors (offset by institutional buying in recent quarters). Quiver/insider & institutional activity

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Dime Community Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Dime Community Bancshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Stephens set a $33.00 price target on Dime Community Bancshares and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Basswood Capital Management, L bought 20,537 shares of Dime Community Bancshares stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $26.26 per share, for a total transaction of $539,301.62. Following the acquisition, the director owned 1,034,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,156,989.08. This trade represents a 2.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Raymond A. Nielsen sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.29, for a total transaction of $57,838.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 33,985 shares in the company, valued at $893,465.65. This represents a 6.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 4,695 shares of company stock valued at $125,809 in the last three months. 7.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Dime Community Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 23,143 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $645,000 after acquiring an additional 3,135 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 132.3% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 169,503 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $4,726,000 after purchasing an additional 96,523 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 17.1% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,621 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 3,443 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 5.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 324,976 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $9,060,000 after purchasing an additional 18,195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Dime Community Bancshares by 5.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 82,084 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $2,289,000 after buying an additional 4,231 shares during the period. 75.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dime Community Bancshares Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $29.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 1.11.

Dime Community Bancshares Company Profile

Dime Community Bancshares, Inc is the bank holding company for Dime Community Bank, headquartered in Hauppauge, New York. Through its subsidiary, the company offers a comprehensive suite of banking and financial services to both individual and commercial customers. With a network of branches spanning the New York metropolitan area and South Florida, Dime Community Bancshares emphasizes relationship banking and local decision-making.

The company’s core lending activities include commercial and multifamily real estate loans, construction and land development financing, and one-to-four-family residential mortgage lending.