Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) shares gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $31.23, but opened at $29.05. Dime Community Bancshares shares last traded at $30.83, with a volume of 10,184 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Dime Community Bancshares from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stephens upgraded Dime Community Bancshares from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, November 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.40.

Dime Community Bancshares Stock Up 3.9 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.42. The company has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.26 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.02). Dime Community Bancshares had a return on equity of 5.43% and a net margin of 4.50%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dime Community Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. Dime Community Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 169.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Michael Fegan sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.76, for a total transaction of $71,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 20,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $720,742.80. The trade was a 9.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Basswood Capital Management, L bought 1,043 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $31.23 per share, with a total value of $32,572.89. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,572.89. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 9.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dime Community Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DCOM. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 9.4% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 5,397 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $155,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Dime Community Bancshares by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 512 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 50.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,697 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 11,395 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 978 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,258 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. 75.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.