Raymond James reiterates Strong Buy on Dime Community stock By Investing.com

DCOM looks less like a simple quality-re-rating and more like a self-help earnings inflection with optionality from deposit mix and operating leverage. The key second-order effect is that strong C&I momentum plus back-book repricing should widen the spread gap versus slower-growing regional peers exactly when the market is rewarding balance-sheet simplicity and visible EPS acceleration. That creates a path for multiple expansion if management can keep deposit beta contained while the new banker hires convert into production rather than just expense drag.

The more interesting competitive angle is that Raymond James’ shift toward SFBS suggests the market is starting to differentiate winners within the regional cohort based on near-term NIM torque and loan growth visibility, not just asset quality. If that rotation sticks, capital could flow away from “steady but slow” banks into names with cleaner repricing upside and better fee/expense leverage, while the KBW technical break can keep passive and factor-driven selling pressure on the whole group for weeks even if fundamentals remain constructive.

The main risk is timing: the earnings step-up thesis is a second-half story, so the stock can underperform for 1–2 quarters if rates stabilize, deposit costs re-accelerate, or the hiring spree dilutes efficiency before revenue contribution shows up. The consensus appears to be underestimating how much of the upside is already in the stock after a 6-month rerating; the more likely miss is not on earnings magnitude, but on how much multiple expansion is left before the market demands proof. That makes this a better relative-value long than a blind outright chase.

The contrarian view is that regional-bank fundamentals are improving while the tape remains technically broken, which often creates the best entry points for patient capital. If DCOM executes, the stock can de-risk into H2 as earnings revisions catch up; if not, the downside should be buffered by the valuation floor relative to its growth profile. The asymmetry is strongest if we can own DCOM against a weaker beta regional basket rather than as a standalone momentum name.