Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the four research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $35.50.

WASH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Washington Trust Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Washington Trust Bancorp from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th.

Washington Trust Bancorp Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Washington Trust Bancorp stock opened at $39.37 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.88. Washington Trust Bancorp has a 12-month low of $25.23 and a 12-month high of $40.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $750.79 million, a PE ratio of 13.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.72.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $60.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.91 million. Washington Trust Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 14.50%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Washington Trust Bancorp will post 3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Washington Trust Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st were issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 1st. Washington Trust Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 77.78%.

Institutional Trading of Washington Trust Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Washington Trust Bancorp by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,015 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $50,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 24.6% during the 2nd 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. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 200.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 367.2% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 1,869 shares in the last quarter. 65.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.