Short Interest in Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) Increases By 11.3%

Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,460,000 shares, a growth of 11.3% from the December 15th total of 2,210,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 310,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.9 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DCOM has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Dime Community Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 21st. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Dime Community Bancshares from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Dime Community Bancshares from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stephens upgraded Dime Community Bancshares from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, November 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Dime Community Bancshares news, CTO Michael Fegan sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.76, for a total value of $71,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 20,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $720,742.80. This trade represents a 9.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Basswood Capital Management, L acquired 29,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $32.00 per share, with a total value of $928,000.00. Following the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dime Community Bancshares

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 47.4% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 503,653 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $14,505,000 after purchasing an additional 162,004 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 91.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 75,732 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $2,181,000 after buying an additional 36,076 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 120.9% during the 3rd 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 buying an additional 263,225 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 211,604 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $4,317,000 after acquiring an additional 24,000 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 635,265 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $12,959,000 after acquiring an additional 77,284 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.27% of the company’s stock.

Dime Community Bancshares Stock Performance

DCOM stock traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $31.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 225,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 315,361. The stock has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.31 and a beta of 1.05. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $33.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.62. Dime Community Bancshares has a 1 year low of $17.29 and a 1 year high of $37.60.

Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.12). Dime Community Bancshares had a return on equity of 5.58% and a net margin of 9.65%. The company had revenue of $171.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.65 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Dime Community Bancshares will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Dime Community Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. Dime Community Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

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.