Brokerages Set Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) PT at $36.40

Shares of Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $36.40.

DCOM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Dime Community Bancshares from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stephens raised shares of Dime Community Bancshares from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $30.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, November 18th.

Dime Community Bancshares Trading Up 3.9 %

Shares of Dime Community Bancshares stock traded up $1.21 on Friday, hitting $32.01. 140,413 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 333,473. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $32.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of 54.26 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.02). Dime Community Bancshares had a net margin of 4.50% and a return on equity of 5.43%. On average, research analysts expect that Dime Community Bancshares will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dime Community Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. Dime Community Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is 169.49%.

Insider Activity at Dime Community Bancshares

In other news, CTO Michael Fegan sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.76, for a total transaction of $71,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 20,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at $720,742.80. This trade represents a 9.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Basswood Capital Management, L acquired 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $32.00 per share, for a total transaction of $928,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,044,221 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,415,072. The trade was a 2.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its position in Dime Community Bancshares by 15.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 1.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 860,009 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $24,773,000 after acquiring an additional 9,978 shares in the last quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. boosted its position in Dime Community Bancshares by 86.3% during the fourth quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. now owns 620,155 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $19,060,000 after purchasing an additional 287,195 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 162,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 120.9% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 480,944 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $13,851,000 after purchasing an additional 263,225 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.27% of the company's stock.

About Dime Community Bancshares

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.