Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday.

WASH has been the topic of several other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Washington Trust Bancorp from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research upgraded Washington Trust Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $32.00 target price on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.33.

Washington Trust Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WASH opened at $33.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $641.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.48, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $32.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Washington Trust Bancorp has a twelve month low of $24.95 and a twelve month high of $37.08.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $59.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.38 million. Washington Trust Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.75% and a net margin of 13.26%. Research analysts predict that Washington Trust Bancorp will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Washington Trust Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.6%. Washington Trust Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.96%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WASH. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Washington Trust Bancorp by 91.5% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 436,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,343,000 after purchasing an additional 208,586 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 1,417.2% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 98,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,908,000 after buying an additional 91,936 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in Washington Trust Bancorp by 173.8% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 88,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,554,000 after acquiring an additional 56,102 shares in the last quarter. Drexel Morgan & Co. grew its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Drexel Morgan & Co. now owns 300,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,889,000 after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 267,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,907,000 after acquiring an additional 36,937 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.81% of the company’s stock.

About Washington Trust Bancorp

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.