Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) Given New $42.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) had its price target hoisted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $38.00 to $42.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the savings and loans company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on DCOM. Raymond James increased their price objective on Dime Community Bancshares from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stephens raised Dime Community Bancshares from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Dime Community Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, September 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.20.

Dime Community Bancshares Stock Performance

DCOM stock opened at $36.59 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a PE ratio of 24.39 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business has a 50 day moving average of $31.75 and a 200-day moving average of $25.62. Dime Community Bancshares has a 12-month low of $17.29 and a 12-month high of $37.60.

Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.12). Dime Community Bancshares had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 5.58%. The firm had revenue of $171.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.65 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Dime Community Bancshares will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Dime Community Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 17th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 17th. Dime Community Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Insider Transactions at Dime Community Bancshares

In other Dime Community Bancshares news, Director Basswood Capital Management, L acquired 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $32.00 per share, for a total transaction of $928,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,044,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,415,072. This represents a 2.86 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 9.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dime Community Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royce & Associates LP raised its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 47.4% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 503,653 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $14,505,000 after buying an additional 162,004 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Dime Community Bancshares by 12.8% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 211,604 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $4,317,000 after purchasing an additional 24,000 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Dime Community Bancshares by 120.9% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 480,944 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $13,851,000 after purchasing an additional 263,225 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Dime Community Bancshares by 13.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 635,265 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $12,959,000 after purchasing an additional 77,284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in Dime Community Bancshares by 33.9% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 488,554 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $9,967,000 after purchasing an additional 123,800 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.27% of the company’s stock.

Dime Community Bancshares Company Profile

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.