Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Has $63.45 Million Stake in Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM)

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,064,565 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after purchasing an additional 30,202 shares during the quarter. Dime Community Bancshares accounts for approximately 3.7% of Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. owned 5.27% of Dime Community Bancshares worth $63,454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DCOM. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth $1,118,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 140,287 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $4,312,000 after acquiring an additional 4,106 shares during the last quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,842,000. Comerica Bank increased its position in Dime Community Bancshares by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 14,119 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 1,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC bought a new position in Dime Community Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,074,000. 75.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Raymond A. Nielsen sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were 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 represents a 6.79 % 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 9,815 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,158,986.40. This represents a 20.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Dime Community Bancshares Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:DCOM traded up $0.12 on Friday, reaching $26.69. 72,702 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 263,304. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.24 and a beta of 1.09. Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.49 and a 1-year high of $37.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company's 50 day moving average is $26.67 and its 200-day moving average is $30.37.

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

Dime Community Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.3438 per share. This is a positive change from Dime Community Bancshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.38 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.15%. Dime Community Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 158.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DCOM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler raised shares of Dime Community Bancshares from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com raised Dime Community Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Stephens cut their price target on Dime Community Bancshares from $36.00 to $32.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target 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.