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

Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $31.80 and last traded at $31.80, with a volume of 21139 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $30.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler downgraded Dime Community Bancshares from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $26.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Dime Community Bancshares from $25.50 to $28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Dime Community Bancshares from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Dime Community Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Dime Community Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.50.

Dime Community Bancshares Trading Up 0.9 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $27.58 and a 200 day moving average of $22.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.33 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $171.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.65 million. Dime Community Bancshares had a return on equity of 6.58% and a net margin of 9.98%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dime Community Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 17th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 17th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. Dime Community Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dime Community Bancshares

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DCOM. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 24.5% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,837 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 2,523 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 8.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 65,316 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,258,000 after buying an additional 4,900 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 7.4% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 21,052 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 1,442 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Dime Community Bancshares by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 83,071 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,600,000 after buying an additional 17,645 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Dime Community Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $243,000. Institutional investors own 75.27% of the company’s stock.

About Dime Community Bancshares

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.