Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. $DCOM Shares Sold by Stieven Capital Advisors L.P.

Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. decreased its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) by 11.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 260,243 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 34,500 shares during the period. Dime Community Bancshares makes up approximately 1.5% of Stieven Capital Advisors L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Dime Community Bancshares were worth $7,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DCOM. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 59.6% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 86,946 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $2,342,000 after purchasing an additional 32,467 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 350,807 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $10,465,000 after purchasing an additional 47,338 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 31.3% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 160,927 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $4,335,000 after purchasing an additional 38,395 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 13.1% in the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,129,067 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $30,417,000 after buying an additional 131,087 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fourthstone LLC raised its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 47.3% in the second quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 116,100 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $3,128,000 after buying an additional 37,300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.27% of the company’s stock.

Dime Community Bancshares Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:DCOM opened at $31.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $32.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.63. Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.25 and a 1-year high of $36.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.51 and a beta of 1.09.

Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The savings and loans company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.09. Dime Community Bancshares had a net margin of 15.15% and a return on equity of 9.12%. The company had revenue of $123.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $118.14 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Dime Community Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 16th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 16th. Dime Community Bancshares’s payout ratio is 42.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DCOM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Dime Community Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Zacks Research upgraded Dime Community Bancshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Dime Community Bancshares from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Dime Community Bancshares from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on Dime Community Bancshares from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.33.

Insider Transactions at Dime Community Bancshares

In other news, CEO Stuart H. Lubow sold 19,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.07, for a total value of $685,618.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 202,648 shares in the company, valued at $7,106,865.36. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Basswood Capital Management, L sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.83, for a total value of $261,225.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,006,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,050,090.77. This trade represents a 0.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 52,865 shares of company stock worth $1,829,983 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

About Dime Community Bancshares

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.