Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.25

Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share by the savings and loans company on Friday, January 23rd. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th.

Dime Community Bancshares has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 2 years. Dime Community Bancshares has a payout ratio of 26.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Dime Community Bancshares to earn $3.98 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.1%.

Dime Community Bancshares Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ:DCOM traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $32.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 24,123 shares, compared to its average volume of 262,223. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.19 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.60. Dime Community Bancshares has a twelve month low of $23.25 and a twelve month high of $34.00.

Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.06). Dime Community Bancshares had a return on equity of 7.81% and a net margin of 8.72%.The company had revenue of $116.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $112.75 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Dime Community Bancshares will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Dime Community Bancshares

In other news, Director Raymond A. Nielsen sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.29, for a total transaction of $57,838.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 33,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $893,465.65. This trade represents a 6.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Basswood Capital Management, L purchased 20,537 shares of Dime Community Bancshares stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $26.26 per share, with a total value of $539,301.62. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,034,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,156,989.08. The trade was a 2.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders sold 4,695 shares of company stock valued at $125,809 over the last three months. Insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Dime Community Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 32.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,406,229 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $101,608,000 after purchasing an additional 839,183 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,754,416 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $76,793,000 after purchasing an additional 14,802 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Dime Community Bancshares by 16.9% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,357,255 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $65,721,000 after purchasing an additional 340,046 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 2.3% during the second quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,228,999 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $33,109,000 after buying an additional 27,463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 131,087 shares during the period. 75.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Dime Community Bancshares

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.