Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) Is Paying Out A Dividend Of $0.25

Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) has announced that it will pay a dividend of $0.25 per share on the 24th of April. Based on this payment, the dividend yield will be 3.6%, which is fairly typical for the industry.

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Dime Community Bancshares' Dividend Forecasted To Be Well Covered By Earnings

While it is always good to see a solid dividend yield, we should also consider whether the payment is feasible.

Dime Community Bancshares has a long history of paying out dividends, with its current track record at a minimum of 10 years. Despite this history however, the company's latest earnings report actually shows that it didn't have enough earnings to cover its dividends. This is an alarming sign for the sustainability of its dividends, as it may mean that Dime Community Bancsharesis pulling cash from elsewhere to keep its shareholders happy.

Analysts expect a massive rise in earnings per share in the next 3 years. They also estimate that the future payout ratio could reach 26% in the same time horizon, which is in a comfortable range for us.

Check out our latest analysis for Dime Community Bancshares

Dime Community Bancshares Has A Solid Track Record

The company has been paying a dividend for a long time, and it has been quite stable which gives us confidence in the future dividend potential. The annual payment during the last 10 years was $0.864 in 2015, and the most recent fiscal year payment was $1.00. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 1.5% per annum over that time. Slow and steady dividend growth might not sound that exciting, but dividends have been stable for ten years, which we think makes this a fairly attractive offer.

The Dividend Has Limited Growth Potential

The company's investors will be pleased to have been receiving dividend income for some time. Let's not jump to conclusions as things might not be as good as they appear on the surface. Earnings per share has been sinking by 21% over the last five years. Dividend payments are likely to come under some pressure unless EPS can pull out of the nosedive it is in. However, the next year is actually looking up, with earnings set to rise. We would just wait until it becomes a pattern before getting too excited.

An additional note is that the company has been raising capital by issuing stock equal to 12% of shares outstanding in the last 12 months. Regularly doing this can be detrimental - it's hard to grow dividends per share when new shares are regularly being created.

In Summary

Overall, it's nice to see a consistent dividend payment, but we think that longer term, the current level of payment might be unsustainable. Although they have been consistent in the past, we think the payments are a little high to be sustained. This company is not in the top tier of income providing stocks.

It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. Taking the debate a bit further, we've identified 3 warning signs for Dime Community Bancshares that investors need to be conscious of moving forward. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.