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

Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the five research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $28.3333.

WASH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Washington Trust Bancorp from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th.

Washington Trust Bancorp Stock Up 0.2%

WASH stock opened at $28.82 on Wednesday. Washington Trust Bancorp has a one year low of $24.95 and a one year high of $37.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $27.80 and its 200 day moving average is $28.29. The firm has a market cap of $548.59 million, a PE ratio of -18.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.95.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) last announced its earnings results 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 positive return on equity of 8.97% and a negative net margin of 6.22%.The business had revenue of $56.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $56.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Washington Trust Bancorp will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Washington Trust Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st were issued a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 1st. Washington Trust Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently -140.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted 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 buying an additional 420 shares during the period. Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 5,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $160,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,030 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares during the period. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its holdings in Washington Trust Bancorp by 23.9% in the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 4,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.81% of the company’s stock.

Washington Trust Bancorp Company Profile

Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for The Washington Trust Company, of Westerly that provides various banking and financial services to individuals and businesses. The company operates in two segments, Commercial Banking and Wealth Management Services. The Commercial Banking segment offers deposit accounts, including interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing demand deposits, NOW and savings accounts, money market and retirement deposit accounts, and time deposits; various commercial and retail lending products, such as commercial real estate loans, including commercial mortgages, and construction and development loans; commercial and industrial loans comprising working capital, equipment financing, and financing for other business-related purposes; residential real estate loans that consist of mortgage and homeowner construction loans; and consumer loans comprising home equity loans and lines of credit, personal installment loans, and loans to individuals secured by general aviation aircraft.