Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $34.45 and last traded at $32.72, with a volume of 1133289 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.12.

The savings and loans company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $123.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $118.14 million. Dime Community Bancshares had a return on equity of 9.12% and a net margin of 15.15%.During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share.

Dime Community Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Dime Community Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 87.72%.

Trending Headlines about Dime Community Bancshares

Here are the key news stories impacting Dime Community Bancshares this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — adjusted diluted EPS of $0.79, record quarterly revenue (~$124M), strong year-over-year turnaround in net income and meaningful core deposit and business loan growth. Management highlighted a sizable loan-repricing opportunity through 2027 and improved asset quality. Dime Community Bancshares Inc Reports Strong Fourth Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts lifted targets and reiterated buys — Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its target to $40 (outperform) and DA Davidson raised its target to $39 (buy), signaling continued analyst confidence and providing near-term upside vs. the prior price. DA Davidson price target raise (coverage)
• Positive Sentiment: Operational improvements — net interest margin expanded to ~3.11% and the adjusted efficiency ratio improved to ~50.3% (Q4), suggesting sustainable NII and cost control tailwinds if management executes. These dynamics support earnings momentum. Dime Q4 results and metrics
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly preferred dividend declared for Series A ($0.34375/share) — routine cash dividend for preferred holders; limited direct impact on common-share valuation but confirms commitment to preferred investors. Dime Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend for Series A Preferred Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Positive coverage and deep-dive pieces discuss valuation after the share rally — useful for assessing whether current price reflects the improved fundamentals or already discounts them. (See Yahoo/finance coverage.) DCOM Q4 Deep Dive: Organic Growth and Deposit Gains
• Negative Sentiment: Rising operating costs and higher provisions — non-interest expense increased year-over-year (adjusted costs still higher vs. some prior periods) and the provision for credit losses remained material; these could pressure future margins if expense growth continues or credit stress re-emerges. Dime Q4 expense and provision details
• Negative Sentiment: CRE concentration remains elevated despite improvements — the consolidated CRE concentration ratio was reduced but still high (~387%), a point investors will watch given commercial real estate risks. CRE concentration and credit quality discussion
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling activity noted — disclosures show insider sales in the past six months, which can be a cautionary signal for some investors (offset by institutional buying in recent quarters). Quiver/insider & institutional activity

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DCOM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Dime Community Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Dime Community Bancshares from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Stephens set a $33.00 price objective on Dime Community Bancshares and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Dime Community Bancshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Dime Community Bancshares news, Director Basswood Capital Management, L purchased 20,537 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.26 per share, with a total value of $539,301.62. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 transaction, the director owned 33,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $893,465.65. This trade represents a 6.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,695 shares of company stock valued at $125,809. 7.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Dime Community Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,065,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Dime Community Bancshares by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,693 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $382,000 after buying an additional 1,347 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 157,812 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $4,708,000 after buying an additional 17,129 shares during the period. Penn Capital Management Company LLC raised its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 20.3% during the third quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 584,810 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $17,487,000 after acquiring an additional 98,736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC raised its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 61.6% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 14,821 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $442,000 after acquiring an additional 5,652 shares during the last quarter. 75.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Dime Community Bancshares Stock Up 3.5%

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $29.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.30. The firm has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

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.