Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $28.3333.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WASH. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Washington Trust Bancorp from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Washington Trust Bancorp from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Washington Trust Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in Washington Trust Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new position in Washington Trust Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 24.6% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 200.8% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,578 shares in the last quarter. 65.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Washington Trust Bancorp Trading Down 0.4%

WASH stock opened at $29.55 on Friday. Washington Trust Bancorp has a 52 week low of $24.95 and a 52 week high of $34.13. The company has a market capitalization of $562.34 million, a PE ratio of -18.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.10. Washington Trust Bancorp had a negative net margin of 6.22% and a positive return on equity of 8.90%. The business had revenue of $56.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $56.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Washington Trust Bancorp will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Washington Trust Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.6%. Washington Trust Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently -140.88%.

Washington Trust Bancorp Company Profile

Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc is the bank holding company for The Washington Trust Company, a community bank headquartered in Westerly, Rhode Island. Through its subsidiary, the company operates a network of branch offices across Rhode Island and southeastern Connecticut, serving individuals, small businesses and municipalities with a full suite of financial services.

The company’s core business activities encompass retail and commercial banking, including checking and savings accounts, consumer and commercial loans, mortgage financing, and cash management solutions.