Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) Receives $28.33 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the five research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.3333.

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

Washington Trust Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:WASH opened at $29.66 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $28.76 and its 200 day moving average is $28.61. Washington Trust Bancorp has a 12 month low of $24.95 and a 12 month high of $34.13. The company has a market capitalization of $564.43 million, a P/E ratio of -18.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $56.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $56.39 million. Washington Trust Bancorp had a positive return on equity of 8.90% and a negative net margin of 6.22%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Washington Trust Bancorp will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Washington Trust Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be paid a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. Washington Trust Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -140.88%.

Institutional Trading of Washington Trust Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. grew its holdings in Washington Trust Bancorp by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 5,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Washington Trust Bancorp by 11.7% in 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 lifted its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 6.2% in the second 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 last quarter. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey lifted its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 23.9% in the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 4,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.