Gator Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. $DCOM

Gator Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) by 16.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 109,230 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,792 shares during the period. Gator Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.25% of Dime Community Bancshares worth $3,258,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DCOM. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,129,067 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $30,417,000 after acquiring an additional 131,087 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 132.3% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 169,503 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $4,726,000 after purchasing an additional 96,523 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 54.1% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 247,929 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $7,396,000 after purchasing an additional 87,002 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 64.5% in the second quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 135,054 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $3,638,000 after purchasing an additional 52,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 32.9% in the second quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 214,166 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $5,770,000 after purchasing an additional 52,970 shares in the last quarter. 75.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dime Community Bancshares Trading Up 0.5%

DCOM stock opened at $32.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.56 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $23.25 and a one year high of $36.86. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $32.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.62.

Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $118.14 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dime Community Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 16th. Dime Community Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Dime Community Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. DA Davidson lifted their price objective 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. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Dime Community Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 value of $685,618.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 202,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,106,865.36. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Basswood Capital Management, L sold 7,500 shares of the business’s 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 directly owned 1,006,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,050,090.77. This trade represents a 0.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,865 shares of company stock valued at $1,829,983. 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.