Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $38.06 and last traded at $37.83, with a volume of 83124 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $37.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DCOM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Dime Community Bancshares in a research note on Monday, March 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Dime Community Bancshares from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Dime Community Bancshares from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered Dime Community Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Dime Community Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.75.

Dime Community Bancshares Trading Up 0.6%

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $36.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.23. The company has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of 16.00 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Dime Community Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 17th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 17th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Dime Community Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Dime Community Bancshares news, Director Raymond A. Nielsen sold 1,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.09, for a total value of $61,198.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 35,607 shares in the company, valued at $1,320,663.63. This trade represents a 4.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new position in Dime Community Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth about $1,065,000. Penn Capital Management Company LLC boosted its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 584,810 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $17,487,000 after purchasing an additional 98,736 shares during the period. Gator Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC now owns 109,230 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $3,258,000 after purchasing an additional 15,792 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 157,812 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $4,708,000 after purchasing an additional 17,129 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 213,325 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $6,419,000 after purchasing an additional 31,968 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.27% of the company’s stock.

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.