Azora Capital LP Takes Position in Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. $DCOM

Azora Capital LP acquired a new stake in Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 18,669 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $562,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 742.9% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 884 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in Dime Community Bancshares in the third quarter worth approximately $169,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 326.4% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,808 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 4,446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi purchased a new position in Dime Community Bancshares in the third quarter worth approximately $202,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.27% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DCOM. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Dime Community Bancshares in a research note on Monday, March 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Dime Community Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Dime Community Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.75.

Dime Community Bancshares Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:DCOM opened at $38.74 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.63 and a twelve month high of $40.76. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.95.

Dime Community Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 17th. Dime Community Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 37.59%.

Insider Activity at Dime Community Bancshares

In other news, Director Raymond A. Nielsen sold 1,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.09, for a total transaction of $61,198.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 35,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,320,663.63. The trade was a 4.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Basswood Capital Management, L sold 14,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.29, for a total transaction of $550,806.51. Following the sale, the director owned 7,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $276,601.60. This represents a 66.57% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 46,052 shares of company stock valued at $1,823,805 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Dime Community Bancshares 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.