Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $30.19 and last traded at $30.05, with a volume of 37719 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $29.56.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DCOM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Dime Community Bancshares from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $23.00 to $26.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Dime Community Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.50.

Dime Community Bancshares Stock Up 2.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 17.19 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.10.

Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $171.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $82.19 million. Dime Community Bancshares had a return on equity of 6.58% and a net margin of 9.98%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dime Community Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 17th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 17th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. Dime Community Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dime Community Bancshares

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. purchased a new stake in Dime Community Bancshares in the first quarter worth about $4,702,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 1,546.1% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 217,719 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $4,441,000 after purchasing an additional 204,493 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 33.9% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 488,554 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $9,967,000 after purchasing an additional 123,800 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 13.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 635,265 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $12,959,000 after purchasing an additional 77,284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC lifted its position in Dime Community Bancshares by 31.0% during the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 205,409 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $3,956,000 after buying an additional 48,619 shares during the period. 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.