Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Stake in Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) by 48.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,361 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 28,893 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.08% of Dime Community Bancshares worth $933,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 58.0% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,782 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 50.8% during the 4th 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 last quarter. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth $92,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC purchased a new position in Dime Community Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at $209,000. 75.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Dime Community Bancshares news, Director Raymond A. Nielsen sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.25, for a total transaction of $93,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 41,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,287,031.25. This trade represents a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Basswood Capital Management, L sold 9,815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.20, for a total value of $306,228.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,158,986.40. The trade was a 20.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have acquired 1,729 shares of company stock valued at $48,021 in the last ninety days. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Dime Community Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of DCOM stock opened at $27.99 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $30.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.49 and a 1 year high of $37.60. The firm has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.44 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Dime Community Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. Dime Community Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 169.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on DCOM shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Dime Community Bancshares from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler raised Dime Community Bancshares from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $36.00 to $38.00 in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.50.

Dime Community Bancshares 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.