Piper Sandler Initiates Coverage on Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM)

Stock analysts at Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) in a research note issued to investors on Monday. The brokerage set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target on the savings and loans company’s stock. Piper Sandler’s target price points to a potential upside of 15.18% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Dime Community Bancshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. 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 research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Dime Community Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.00.

Dime Community Bancshares Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ DCOM traded up $0.24 during trading on Monday, reaching $32.12. The company had a trading volume of 35,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 283,097. The stock has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.61 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $32.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Dime Community Bancshares has a 12 month low of $23.25 and a 12 month high of $36.86.

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

Insider Transactions at Dime Community Bancshares

In related news, CEO Stuart H. Lubow sold 19,550 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 202,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,106,865.36. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Basswood Capital Management, L sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.83, for a total value of $261,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,006,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,050,090.77. The trade was a 0.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 52,865 shares of company stock valued at $1,829,983 over the last ninety days. 7.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dime Community Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of DCOM. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 15.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,135 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 132.3% in the first 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. grew its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 17.1% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $9,060,000 after buying an additional 18,195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 5.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 82,084 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $2,289,000 after acquiring an additional 4,231 shares in the last quarter. 75.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.