What’s a smart Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) investor to do?
Now, according to many investors, hedge funds are seen as overrated, outdated financial vehicles of a forgotten age. Although there are over 8,000 hedge funds trading in present day, Insider Monkey looks at the masters of this group, about 525 funds. It is widely held that this group controls the lion’s share of the hedge fund industry’s total capital, and by tracking their best investments, we’ve spotted a few investment strategies that have historically outperformed the market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points a year for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve began to sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have beaten the S&P 500 index by 33 percentage points in 11 months (explore the details and some picks here).
Just as crucial, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to look at the marketplace. Obviously, there are many stimuli for an insider to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Various academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if shareholders know what to do (learn more here).
Thus, we’re going to discuss the latest info for Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM).
How have hedgies been trading Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM)?
At Q2’s end, a total of 7 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -36% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes meaningfully.
According to our 13F database, Bryn Mawr Capital, managed by Ken Gray and Steve Walsh, holds the biggest position in Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM). Bryn Mawr Capital has a $7.8 million position in the stock, comprising 0.5% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Daniel Lascano of Lomas Capital Management, with a $3.1 million position; the fund has 1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedge funds that hold long positions include Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, Neil Chriss’s Hutchin Hill Capital and Irving Kahn’s Kahn Brothers.
Judging by the fact that Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) has faced dropping sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s safe to say that there were a few fund managers that slashed their full holdings last quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies said goodbye to the biggest investment of the “upper crust” of funds we monitor, worth close to $0.5 million in stock, and Douglas W. Case of Advanced Investment Partners was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $0.4 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 4 funds last quarter.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM)?
Insider buying made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest six-month time frame, Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
We’ll also examine the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM). These stocks are Meridian Interstate Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBSB), Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR), BofI Holding, Inc. (NASDAQ:BOFI), Roma Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:ROMA), and Flushing Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FFIC). All of these stocks are in the savings & loans industry and their market caps match DCOM’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Meridian Interstate Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBSB) | 0 | 0 | |
| Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| BofI Holding, Inc. (NASDAQ:BOFI) | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Roma Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:ROMA) | 0 | 0 | |
| Flushing Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FFIC) | 6 | 0 | 0 |
Using the results explained by the previously mentioned studies, average investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) is an important part of this process.
