Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. Buys 287,195 Shares of Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM)

Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) by 86.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 620,155 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after purchasing an additional 287,195 shares during the period. Dime Community Bancshares comprises about 3.4% of Stieven Capital Advisors L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. owned about 1.58% of Dime Community Bancshares worth $19,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 5,397 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $155,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 50.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,697 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 31.2% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,305 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 19,000 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $584,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. 75.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Dime Community Bancshares

In related news, Director Basswood Capital Management, L acquired 1,043 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $31.23 per share, for a total transaction of $32,572.89. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,572.89. The trade was a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Michael Fegan sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.76, for a total value of $71,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 20,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $720,742.80. This trade represents a 9.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 9.10% of the company’s stock.

Dime Community Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:DCOM opened at $31.34 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $31.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.12 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.29 and a 52 week high of $37.60.

Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.02). Dime Community Bancshares had a net margin of 4.50% and a return on equity of 5.43%. Analysts anticipate that Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Dime Community Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. Dime Community Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 169.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens raised shares of Dime Community Bancshares from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $30.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, November 18th. Piper Sandler raised Dime Community Bancshares from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $36.00 to $38.00 in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Dime Community Bancshares from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.40.

Dime Community Bancshares Company Profile

Dime Community Bancshares, Inc operates as the holding company for Dime Community Bank that engages in the provision of various commercial banking and financial services. The company accepts time, savings, and demand deposits from the businesses, consumers, and local municipalities. It also offers commercial real estate loans; multi-family mortgage loans; residential mortgage loans; letters of credit; secured and unsecured commercial and consumer loans; lines of credit; home equity loans; and construction and land loans.