Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) Plans $0.25 Quarterly Dividend

Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, June 26th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 17th will be paid a dividend of 0.25 per share by the savings and loans company on Thursday, July 24th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 17th.

Dime Community Bancshares has a dividend payout ratio of 26.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Dime Community Bancshares to earn $3.98 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.1%.

Dime Community Bancshares Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of Dime Community Bancshares stock traded up $0.47 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $27.29. The company had a trading volume of 707,487 shares, compared to its average volume of 274,086. The company's 50-day moving average is $26.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.55. Dime Community Bancshares has a twelve month low of $19.37 and a twelve month high of $37.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.32 and a beta of 1.07.

Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.02. Dime Community Bancshares had a net margin of 5.08% and a return on equity of 6.05%. The business had revenue of $103.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $105.83 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Dime Community Bancshares will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Dime Community Bancshares news, Director Raymond A. Nielsen sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.58, for a total transaction of $51,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 35,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $905,327.36. This represents a 5.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 7.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dime Community Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position 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 buying an additional 3,135 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 17.1% during the 1st 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 period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,231 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 81,273 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $2,266,000 after purchasing an additional 11,512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $9,060,000 after purchasing an additional 18,195 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on DCOM shares. 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 research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Dime Community Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $36.88.

Dime Community Bancshares Company 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.