Jane Street Group LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM)

Jane Street Group LLC trimmed its position in Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM - Free Report) by 45.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,082 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 14,821 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC's holdings in Dime Community Bancshares were worth $556,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in Dime Community Bancshares by 58.0% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,782 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 50.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,697 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC bought a new stake in Dime Community Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, Two Sigma Securities LLC acquired a new position in Dime Community Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth $219,000. 75.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on DCOM shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Dime Community Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Stephens dropped their price target on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $36.00 to $32.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $36.88.

Dime Community Bancshares Stock Down 0.1%

DCOM traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $25.71. 159,862 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 268,204. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $26.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of 43.58 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.49 and a 1 year high of $37.60.

Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $103.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business posted $0.38 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Dime Community Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.3438 per share. This represents a $1.38 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.35%. This is a positive change from Dime Community Bancshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Dime Community Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 158.73%.

About Dime Community Bancshares

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.