Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock 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 Ratings Changes

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

Dime Community Bancshares Trading Up 1.7%

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $39.42 and its 200-day moving average is $36.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $1.85 billion, a PE ratio of 17.75 and a beta of 0.99.

Dime Community Bancshares Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Dime Community Bancshares news, Director Basswood Capital Management, L sold 20,687 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.17, for a total value of $851,683.79. Following the sale, the director owned 6,396 shares in the company, valued at $263,323.32. This trade represents a 76.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Raymond A. Nielsen sold 1,650 shares of Dime Community Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.09, for a total transaction of $61,198.50. Following the sale, the director owned 35,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,320,663.63. The trade was a 4.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 163,419 shares of company stock valued at $6,559,507 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dime Community Bancshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 15.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 23,143 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $645,000 after buying an additional 3,135 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 132.3% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 169,503 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $4,726,000 after acquiring an additional 96,523 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 17.1% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,621 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 3,443 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 324,976 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $9,060,000 after acquiring an additional 18,195 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Dime Community Bancshares by 5.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 82,084 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $2,289,000 after purchasing an additional 4,231 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.27% of the company’s stock.

About Dime Community Bancshares

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.