Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) Sets New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Dime Community Bancshares reached a new 52-week high of $42.01 after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target to $49 and maintained an outperform rating. Piper Sandler also reiterated its overweight rating and increased its target to $47.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with four Buy ratings and two Holds, resulting in a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $45.50.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.91 in earnings per share versus an $0.86 estimate and $135.35 million in revenue versus $131.16 million expected. It also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25, equivalent to a 2.4% annual yield.

Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on the stock from $47.00 to $49.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Dime Community Bancshares traded as high as $42.01 and last traded at $42.0110, with a volume of 95,965 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $40.72.

Separately, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $47.00 target price (up from $45.00) on shares of Dime Community Bancshares in a report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $45.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dime Community Bancshares

In other news, Director Basswood Capital Management, L sold 53,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.76, for a total value of $2,160,280.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,494.40. This trade represents a 89.17% 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 hyperlink. Also, Director Raymond A. Nielsen sold 1,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.73, for a total transaction of $75,114.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 32,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,352,052. This trade represents a 5.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 134,595 shares of company stock worth $5,506,229. Insiders own 7.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dime Community Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new position in Dime Community Bancshares during the third quarter valued at $657,000. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth about $73,000. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth about $302,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 65,024 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $2,643,000 after acquiring an additional 1,686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new position in Dime Community Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. 75.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Dime Community Bancshares Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The business's 50-day moving average is $40.08 and its 200-day moving average is $38.94. The company has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of 17.81 and a beta of 1.01.

Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 20th. The savings and loans company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. Dime Community Bancshares had a net margin of 15.15% and a return on equity of 9.12%. The business had revenue of $135.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $131.16 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Dime Community Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 16th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 16th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Dime Community Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.10%.

Dime Community Bancshares Company Profile

Dime Community Bancshares, Inc is the bank holding company for Dime Community Bank, a full-service commercial bank serving businesses, individuals and local communities in the New York metropolitan area. The company's primary markets include Long Island and New York City, with banking offices across Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, Nassau County and Suffolk County.

Dime Community Bank provides commercial and residential real estate lending, commercial and industrial loans, construction financing, residential mortgages and consumer loans.

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