Brokerages Set Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) Price Target at $35.25

Shares of Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $35.25.

DCOM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Dime Community Bancshares from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Stephens set a $33.00 price target on Dime Community Bancshares and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Zacks Research upgraded Dime Community Bancshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Dime Community Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Dime Community Bancshares in a research report on Friday, December 5th.

Insider Activity

In other Dime Community Bancshares news, Director Raymond A. Nielsen sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.29, for a total transaction of $57,838.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 33,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $893,465.65. The trade was a 6.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Basswood Capital Management, L purchased 20,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.26 per share, with a total value of $539,301.62. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,034,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,156,989.08. This represents a 2.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,695 shares of company stock worth $125,809. Insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dime Community Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 742.9% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 884 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust acquired a new stake in Dime Community Bancshares during the second quarter worth approximately $97,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,448 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 326.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 4,446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in Dime Community Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth about $169,000. 75.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Dime Community Bancshares Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:DCOM opened at $29.85 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.18 and a beta of 1.11. Dime Community Bancshares has a 12-month low of $23.25 and a 12-month high of $34.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $28.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $116.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $112.75 million. Dime Community Bancshares had a return on equity of 7.81% and a net margin of 8.72%.During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Dime Community Bancshares will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Dime Community Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. Dime Community Bancshares’s payout ratio is 87.72%.

Dime Community Bancshares Company 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.