Soros Fund Management LLC Buys New Shares in Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM)

Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 100,000 shares of the savings and loans company's stock, valued at approximately $3,074,000. Soros Fund Management LLC owned approximately 0.26% of Dime Community Bancshares as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in Dime Community Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $480,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 91.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 75,732 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $2,181,000 after purchasing an additional 36,076 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 81,602 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $2,508,000 after purchasing an additional 12,700 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 50.1% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 56,472 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $1,736,000 after purchasing an additional 18,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth $4,850,000. 75.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Dime Community Bancshares Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ DCOM traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $26.65. 184,993 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 263,645. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.48. Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.49 and a twelve month high of $37.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.17 and a beta of 1.09.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $103.83 million for 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 period last year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dime Community Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th will be paid a $0.3438 dividend. This is a positive change from Dime Community Bancshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.16%. Dime Community Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 158.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler upgraded Dime Community Bancshares from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $38.00 in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Dime Community Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stephens reduced 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 assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $36.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Raymond A. Nielsen sold 3,000 shares of Dime Community Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.25, for a total value of $93,750.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 41,185 shares in the company, valued at $1,287,031.25. This trade represents a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Basswood Capital Management, L sold 9,815 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.20, for a total transaction of $306,228.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 37,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,158,986.40. This represents a 20.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 7.10% of the company's stock.

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.