Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) Hits New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Dime Community Bancshares reached a new 52-week high of $41.76, with shares recently trading near $41.67. Analysts remain positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and several firms raising price targets to $43.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, equivalent to a $1.00 annualized dividend and a 2.4% yield; its payout ratio is 36.1%.
• Insiders sold approximately 163,419 shares worth $6.56 million over the past three months, while institutional investors own a substantial 75.27% of the company.

Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $41.76 and last traded at $41.6730, with a volume of 91313 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $41.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on DCOM. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Dime Community Bancshares from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Dime Community Bancshares currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $39.75.

Dime Community Bancshares Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.75 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Dime Community Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 17th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Dime Community Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Basswood Capital Management, L sold 20,687 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.17, for a total transaction of $851,683.79. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,396 shares in the company, valued at approximately $263,323.32. This represents a 76.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Raymond A. Nielsen sold 1,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.09, for a total value of $61,198.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 35,607 shares in the company, valued at $1,320,663.63. This trade represents a 4.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 163,419 shares of company stock valued at $6,559,507 over the last three months. Company insiders own 7.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DCOM. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 54.5% during the first quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,452 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 21,219 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $718,000 after purchasing an additional 683 shares in the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 25,961 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $699,000 after buying an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Dime Community Bancshares by 742.9% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 884 shares during the period. Finally, Gator Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC now owns 110,185 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $3,315,000 after buying an additional 955 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.27% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.