Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $37.25 and last traded at $37.52, with a volume of 59383 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DCOM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Dime Community Bancshares in a research note on Monday, March 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research raised shares of Dime Community Bancshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Dime Community Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Dime Community Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.00.

Dime Community Bancshares Trading Up 3.2%

The company has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.69 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $33.90 and its 200-day moving average is $31.26. 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 (NASDAQ:DCOM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The savings and loans company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.09. Dime Community Bancshares had a net margin of 15.15% and a return on equity of 9.12%. The company had revenue of $123.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $118.14 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Dime Community Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Dime Community Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Dime Community Bancshares news, CEO Stuart H. Lubow sold 19,550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.07, for a total transaction of $685,618.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 202,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,106,865.36. This trade represents 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 this link. Also, Director Basswood Capital Management, L sold 20,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.96, for a total transaction of $690,712.44. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,013,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,429,293.24. This represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 52,865 shares of company stock valued at $1,829,983 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dime Community Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 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 purchasing an additional 884 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 15.1% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,448 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares during the third quarter valued at approximately $169,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 4,446 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.27% of the company’s stock.

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.