Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $39.50 and last traded at $39.2640, with a volume of 223967 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $38.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on DCOM shares. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of 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 increased their target price on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Dime Community Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Dime Community Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Dime Community Bancshares in a report on Monday, March 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. One equities research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.75.

Dime Community Bancshares Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $36.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of 16.64 and a beta of 1.00.

Dime Community Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 17th. Dime Community Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dime Community Bancshares

In other news, Director Raymond A. Nielsen sold 1,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.09, for a total transaction of $61,198.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 35,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,320,663.63. This trade represents a 4.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 19.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 328,789 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $11,120,000 after purchasing an additional 54,382 shares in the last quarter. Amundi acquired a new stake in Dime Community Bancshares during the first quarter worth approximately $228,000. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Dime Community Bancshares by 11.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,311 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 979 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Dime Community Bancshares by 7.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 190,377 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $6,439,000 after acquiring an additional 13,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in Dime Community Bancshares by 49.5% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 49,434 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,672,000 after acquiring an additional 16,363 shares during the last quarter. 75.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.