Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.09 EPS

Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The savings and loans company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.09, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $123.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $118.14 million. Dime Community Bancshares had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 7.81%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share.

Dime Community Bancshares Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of DCOM stock opened at $30.12 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $29.67 and its 200-day moving average is $29.24. The stock has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.42 and a beta of 1.11. Dime Community Bancshares has a 52-week low of $23.25 and a 52-week high of $34.00.

Dime Community Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Dime Community Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 87.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DCOM. Zacks Research upgraded Dime Community Bancshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Stephens set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Dime Community Bancshares and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Dime Community Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $36.00 price target on shares of Dime Community Bancshares in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.25.

Insider Transactions at Dime Community Bancshares

In other news, Director Raymond A. Nielsen sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.29, for a total value of $57,838.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 33,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $893,465.65. This trade represents a 6.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Basswood Capital Management, L bought 20,537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $26.26 per share, for a total transaction of $539,301.62. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,034,158 shares in the company, valued at $27,156,989.08. The trade was a 2.03% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold 4,695 shares of company stock valued at $125,809 in the last quarter. 7.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 32.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,406,229 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $101,608,000 after buying an additional 839,183 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position in Dime Community Bancshares by 97.0% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 432,464 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $12,900,000 after acquiring an additional 212,934 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Dime Community Bancshares by 5.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 324,976 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $9,060,000 after acquiring an additional 18,195 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 271.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 266,005 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $7,935,000 after purchasing an additional 194,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 251,067 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $7,489,000 after purchasing an additional 36,901 shares during the period. 75.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Dime Community Bancshares Company Profile

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.