Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $29.21, but opened at $28.50. Dime Community Bancshares shares last traded at $29.21, with a volume of 10,436 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on DCOM shares. Piper Sandler lowered Dime Community Bancshares from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Dime Community Bancshares from $25.50 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com cut Dime Community Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 21st. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $29.50.

Dime Community Bancshares Price Performance

The company's 50 day moving average price is $26.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.39 and a beta of 1.00.

Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. Dime Community Bancshares had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 6.58%. The company had revenue of $171.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $82.19 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dime Community Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 17th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 17th. Dime Community Bancshares's payout ratio is presently 56.18%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. acquired a new position in Dime Community Bancshares in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,702,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 1,546.1% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 217,719 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $4,441,000 after purchasing an additional 204,493 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 33.9% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 488,554 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $9,967,000 after purchasing an additional 123,800 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 13.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 635,265 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $12,959,000 after purchasing an additional 77,284 shares during the period. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 31.0% during the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 205,409 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $3,956,000 after acquiring an additional 48,619 shares in the last quarter. 75.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.