Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) Given New $40.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) had its price objective lifted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $34.00 to $40.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the savings and loans company’s stock.

DCOM has been the subject of several other research reports. Stephens set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Dime Community Bancshares and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Dime Community Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. DA Davidson set a $36.00 price target on shares of Dime Community Bancshares in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Dime Community Bancshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.33.

Dime Community Bancshares Stock Performance

DCOM stock opened at $33.87 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $29.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.30. Dime Community Bancshares has a 1-year low of $23.25 and a 1-year high of $34.86.

Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The savings and loans company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $123.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $118.14 million. Dime Community Bancshares had a return on equity of 9.12% and a net margin of 15.15%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Dime Community Bancshares will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Dime Community Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Dime Community Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.72%.

Insider Transactions at Dime Community Bancshares

In other Dime Community Bancshares news, Director Raymond A. Nielsen sold 2,200 shares of Dime Community Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.29, for a total transaction of $57,838.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $893,465.65. The trade was a 6.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Basswood Capital Management, L acquired 20,537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $26.26 per share, with a total value of $539,301.62. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,034,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,156,989.08. This represents a 2.03% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 4,695 shares of company stock valued at $125,809 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dime Community Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 23,143 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $645,000 after acquiring an additional 3,135 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 132.3% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 169,503 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $4,726,000 after purchasing an additional 96,523 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 17.1% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,621 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 3,443 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Dime Community Bancshares by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 324,976 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $9,060,000 after purchasing an additional 18,195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 82,084 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $2,289,000 after buying an additional 4,231 shares during the last quarter. 75.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dime Community Bancshares News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — adjusted diluted EPS of $0.79, record quarterly revenue (~$124M), strong year-over-year turnaround in net income and meaningful core deposit and business loan growth. Management highlighted a sizable loan-repricing opportunity through 2027 and improved asset quality. Dime Community Bancshares Inc Reports Strong Fourth Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts lifted targets and reiterated buys — Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its target to $40 (outperform) and DA Davidson raised its target to $39 (buy), signaling continued analyst confidence and providing near-term upside vs. the prior price. DA Davidson price target raise (coverage)
• Positive Sentiment: Operational improvements — net interest margin expanded to ~3.11% and the adjusted efficiency ratio improved to ~50.3% (Q4), suggesting sustainable NII and cost control tailwinds if management executes. These dynamics support earnings momentum. Dime Q4 results and metrics
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly preferred dividend declared for Series A ($0.34375/share) — routine cash dividend for preferred holders; limited direct impact on common-share valuation but confirms commitment to preferred investors. Dime Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend for Series A Preferred Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Positive coverage and deep-dive pieces discuss valuation after the share rally — useful for assessing whether current price reflects the improved fundamentals or already discounts them. (See Yahoo/finance coverage.) DCOM Q4 Deep Dive: Organic Growth and Deposit Gains
• Negative Sentiment: Rising operating costs and higher provisions — non-interest expense increased year-over-year (adjusted costs still higher vs. some prior periods) and the provision for credit losses remained material; these could pressure future margins if expense growth continues or credit stress re-emerges. Dime Q4 expense and provision details
• Negative Sentiment: CRE concentration remains elevated despite improvements — the consolidated CRE concentration ratio was reduced but still high (~387%), a point investors will watch given commercial real estate risks. CRE concentration and credit quality discussion
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling activity noted — disclosures show insider sales in the past six months, which can be a cautionary signal for some investors (offset by institutional buying in recent quarters). Quiver/insider & institutional activity

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.