Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) Director Raymond A. Nielsen Sells 2,000 Shares

Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM - Get Free Report) Director Raymond A. Nielsen sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.58, for a total transaction of $51,160.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 35,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $905,327.36. This represents a 5.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Dime Community Bancshares Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ DCOM traded up $0.64 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $26.07. 261,732 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 268,967. The business's 50-day moving average price is $26.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.71. Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.49 and a twelve month high of $37.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.19 and a beta of 1.09.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.02. Dime Community Bancshares had a net margin of 4.50% and a return on equity of 5.43%. The business had revenue of $103.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $105.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dime Community Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.3438 per share. This is a boost from Dime Community Bancshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.27%. Dime Community Bancshares's payout ratio is presently 158.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $36.00 to $32.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Dime Community Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.88.

Institutional Trading of Dime Community Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 125.0% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 900 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 861.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,135 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,017 shares in the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Dime Community Bancshares in the first quarter valued at $37,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 58.0% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,782 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 50.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,697 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. 75.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.