Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) Price Target Raised to $43.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) had its price target increased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $40.00 to $43.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the savings and loans company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on DCOM. Wall Street Zen cut Dime Community Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Piper Sandler began coverage on Dime Community Bancshares in a research note on Monday, March 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised Dime Community Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Stephens upped their target price on Dime Community Bancshares from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on Dime Community Bancshares from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Dime Community Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.75.

Dime Community Bancshares Trading Down 5.4%

Shares of NASDAQ DCOM opened at $35.31 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $33.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Dime Community Bancshares has a 1-year low of $24.57 and a 1-year high of $37.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.96 and a beta of 1.05.

Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The savings and loans company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.09. Dime Community Bancshares had a return on equity of 9.12% and a net margin of 15.15%.The company had revenue of $123.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $118.14 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Dime Community Bancshares will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Dime Community Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 was Friday, April 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Dime Community Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 42.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Stuart H. Lubow sold 19,550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.07, for a total value of $685,618.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 202,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,106,865.36. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Basswood Capital Management, L sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.83, for a total value of $261,225.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,006,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,050,090.77. This represents a 0.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 52,865 shares of company stock valued at $1,829,983 in the last quarter. 7.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Dime Community Bancshares

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DCOM. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Dime Community Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 742.9% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 884 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 326.4% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,808 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 4,446 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in Dime Community Bancshares during the third quarter worth $169,000. Finally, Amundi purchased a new stake in Dime Community Bancshares during the third quarter worth $202,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.27% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Dime Community Bancshares

Here are the key news stories impacting Dime Community Bancshares this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target on Dime from $40 to $43 and reiterated an “outperform” rating, implying ~22% upside vs. the current share level — a clear buy‑side signal that supports upside. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Company reported year‑over‑year and sequential EPS growth and higher net income for Q1, highlighting core deposit and business loan growth and management hiring to support expansion. This underpins long‑term growth narrative. GlobeNewswire EPS release
• Positive Sentiment: Board declared a quarterly cash dividend on the 5.50% Series A preferred, payable May 15 — a sign of capital distribution discipline for preferred holders. Preferred dividend notice
• Neutral Sentiment: Management outlined a path to >3.50% NIM by Q4 2027 — positive longer‑term margin outlook — but raised 2026 core expense guidance to about $260M, which may compress near‑term earnings. Investors will focus on execution vs. higher costs. Seeking Alpha on NIM & expenses
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces and previews summarize Q1 performance and metrics for investors evaluating momentum and credit trends; useful context but not single catalysts. Earnings preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry comparison/head‑to‑head analyses published; these help relative valuation and competitive positioning but are not direct catalysts. Head-to-head survey
• Negative Sentiment: Some outlets flagged that Q1 EPS slightly missed certain consensus estimates (reported ~$0.74–$0.75 vs. some estimates ~ $0.77), which likely triggered short‑term selling and skepticism about near‑term trajectory. Zacks on earnings miss

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.