CenterBook Partners LP Buys 15,785 Shares of Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. $DCOM

CenterBook Partners LP raised its stake in Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) by 91.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,083 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,785 shares during the quarter. CenterBook Partners LP owned approximately 0.08% of Dime Community Bancshares worth $995,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,406,229 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $101,608,000 after purchasing an additional 839,183 shares in the last quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC increased its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 20.3% during the third quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 584,810 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $17,487,000 after buying an additional 98,736 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 97.0% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 432,464 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $12,900,000 after buying an additional 212,934 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Dime Community Bancshares by 5.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 324,976 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $9,060,000 after acquiring an additional 18,195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. raised its position in Dime Community Bancshares by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. now owns 319,543 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $9,615,000 after acquiring an additional 59,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.27% of the company’s stock.

Dime Community Bancshares Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Dime Community Bancshares stock opened at $39.26 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.55. Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.63 and a 1 year high of $39.50. The company has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64 and a beta of 1.00.

Dime Community Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 17th. Dime Community Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at Dime Community Bancshares

In related news, Director Raymond A. Nielsen sold 1,650 shares of Dime Community Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.09, for a total transaction of $61,198.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 35,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,320,663.63. The trade was a 4.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 7.40% 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.