Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Buy" by the five analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $34.20.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DCOM. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Dime Community Bancshares from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stephens raised shares of Dime Community Bancshares from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $30.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Dime Community Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 21st.

Dime Community Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of Dime Community Bancshares stock traded down $0.61 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $30.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 485,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 328,680. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $33.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35 and a beta of 1.05. Dime Community Bancshares has a one year low of $17.29 and a one year high of $37.60.

Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.12). Dime Community Bancshares had a return on equity of 5.58% and a net margin of 9.65%. The company had revenue of $171.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.65 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.56 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Dime Community Bancshares will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Dime Community Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. Dime Community Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dime Community Bancshares

In related news, Director Basswood Capital Management, L purchased 29,000 shares of Dime Community Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $32.00 per share, for a total transaction of $928,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,044,221 shares in the company, valued at $33,415,072. The trade was a 2.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CTO Michael Fegan sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.76, for a total value of $71,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 20,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $720,742.80. This represents a 9.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 9.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dime Community Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 0.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,173,003 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $44,328,000 after purchasing an additional 13,650 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,090,834 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $31,416,000 after buying an additional 143,402 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 860,009 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $24,773,000 after buying an additional 9,978 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 13.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 635,265 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $12,959,000 after acquiring an additional 77,284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 47.4% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 503,653 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $14,505,000 after acquiring an additional 162,004 shares in the last quarter. 75.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dime Community Bancshares Company Profile

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.