Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) Stock Price

Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) had its price target hoisted by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the savings and loans company’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price indicates a potential upside of 19.48% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Dime Community Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Dime Community Bancshares in a report on Monday, March 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Dime Community Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.75.

Dime Community Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of DCOM stock traded down $1.35 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $35.99. 204,321 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 293,560. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.21 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $33.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.44. Dime Community Bancshares has a 52 week low of $24.57 and a 52 week high of $37.75.

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

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dime Community Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DCOM. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 23,143 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $645,000 after buying an additional 3,135 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 132.3% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 169,503 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $4,726,000 after buying an additional 96,523 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 17.1% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,621 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $659,000 after buying an additional 3,443 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 324,976 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $9,060,000 after buying an additional 18,195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 82,084 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $2,289,000 after buying an additional 4,231 shares in the last quarter. 75.27% of the stock is currently 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.