Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $39.75.

A number of brokerages recently commented on DCOM. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Dime Community Bancshares from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th.

Dime Community Bancshares Trading Down 1.9%

DCOM opened at $39.40 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $38.79 and a 200 day moving average of $35.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Dime Community Bancshares has a 12 month low of $25.63 and a 12 month high of $41.62. The firm has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.70 and a beta of 0.99.

Dime Community Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. Dime Community Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 37.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Raymond A. Nielsen sold 1,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.09, for a total transaction of $61,198.50. Following the sale, the director owned 35,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,320,663.63. This trade represents a 4.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Basswood Capital Management, L sold 32,751 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.02, for a total transaction of $1,277,944.02. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,785 shares in the company, valued at $264,750.70. This represents a 82.84% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 78,803 shares of company stock valued at $3,101,749 over the last 90 days. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dime Community Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DCOM. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 54.5% during the 1st quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,452 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 3.3% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 21,219 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $718,000 after acquiring an additional 683 shares in the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 3.3% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 25,961 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $699,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 884 shares during the period. Finally, Gator Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC now owns 110,185 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $3,315,000 after purchasing an additional 955 shares in the last quarter. 75.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dime Community Bancshares Company Profile

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.