PDT Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM)

PDT Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 26,842 shares of the savings and loans company's stock, valued at approximately $825,000. PDT Partners LLC owned about 0.07% of Dime Community Bancshares as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth about $480,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 91.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 75,732 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $2,181,000 after acquiring an additional 36,076 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 81,602 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $2,508,000 after purchasing an additional 12,700 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 50.1% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 56,472 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $1,736,000 after purchasing an additional 18,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Dime Community Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth $4,850,000. Institutional investors own 75.27% of the company's stock.

Dime Community Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:DCOM traded up $0.78 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $26.65. 184,993 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 263,645. The company's 50 day moving average price is $27.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.17 and a beta of 0.96. Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.49 and a 52-week high of $37.60.

Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.02. Dime Community Bancshares had a return on equity of 5.43% and a net margin of 4.50%. The firm had revenue of $103.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $105.83 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Dime Community Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be paid a $0.3438 dividend. This represents a $1.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.16%. This is an increase from Dime Community Bancshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Dime Community Bancshares's payout ratio is 158.73%.

Insider Activity at Dime Community Bancshares

In other Dime Community Bancshares news, Director Basswood Capital Management, L sold 9,815 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.20, for a total value of $306,228.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 37,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,158,986.40. The trade was a 20.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Raymond A. Nielsen sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.25, for a total transaction of $93,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 41,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,287,031.25. This trade represents a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 7.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on DCOM shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Dime Community Bancshares from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $36.00 to $32.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler upgraded Dime Community Bancshares from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $38.00 in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Dime Community Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $36.88.

Dime Community Bancshares Profile

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.