Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $38.3333.

Several research firms have commented on DCOM. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Dime Community Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded Dime Community Bancshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Dime Community Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Basswood Capital Management, L sold 20,339 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.96, for a total value of $690,712.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,013,819 shares in the company, valued at $34,429,293.24. This represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stuart H. Lubow sold 19,550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.07, for a total transaction of $685,618.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 202,648 shares in the company, valued at $7,106,865.36. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 53,360 shares of company stock valued at $1,844,734 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 59.6% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 86,946 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $2,342,000 after buying an additional 32,467 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 350,807 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $10,465,000 after purchasing an additional 47,338 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 31.3% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 160,927 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $4,335,000 after purchasing an additional 38,395 shares during the last quarter. CSM Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares during the second quarter worth $6,302,000. Finally, Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Dime Community Bancshares in the second quarter valued at about $1,697,000. Institutional investors own 75.27% of the company’s stock.

Dime Community Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ DCOM opened at $34.27 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.52 and a beta of 1.11. Dime Community Bancshares has a one year low of $23.25 and a one year high of $36.86. The company’s fifty day moving average is $32.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The savings and loans company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.09. Dime Community Bancshares had a return on equity of 9.12% and a net margin of 15.15%.The business had revenue of $123.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $118.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. Analysts forecast that Dime Community Bancshares will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dime Community Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 16th. Dime Community Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 42.37%.

About Dime Community Bancshares

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.