Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.09 EPS

Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The savings and loans company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.09, FiscalAI reports. Dime Community Bancshares had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 7.81%. The business had revenue of $123.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $118.14 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share.

Dime Community Bancshares Stock Down 2.6%

NASDAQ:DCOM opened at $30.12 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.42 and a beta of 1.11. Dime Community Bancshares has a twelve month low of $23.25 and a twelve month high of $34.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.24.

Dime Community Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. Dime Community Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 87.72%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Basswood Capital Management, L acquired 20,537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $26.26 per share, for a total transaction of $539,301.62. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,034,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,156,989.08. This represents a 2.03% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Raymond A. Nielsen sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.29, for a total transaction of $57,838.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,985 shares in the company, valued at $893,465.65. This represents a 6.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 4,695 shares of company stock worth $125,809 in the last ninety days. 7.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dime Community Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DCOM. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 884 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in Dime Community Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth about $169,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Dime Community Bancshares by 326.4% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,808 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 4,446 shares during the period. Amundi purchased a new position in Dime Community Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 32.7% in the 3rd quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 7,767 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,915 shares in the last quarter. 75.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson set a $36.00 price target on Dime Community Bancshares in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Stephens set a $33.00 target price on Dime Community Bancshares and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Zacks Research upgraded Dime Community Bancshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Dime Community Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.25.

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.