Renaissance Technologies LLC Acquires 40,591 Shares of Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. $WASH

Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) by 108.6% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 77,959 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,591 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Washington Trust Bancorp were worth $2,609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WASH. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 114.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,015 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Washington Trust Bancorp by 24.6% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in 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 worth $67,000 after buying an additional 1,578 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 367.2% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,869 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in Washington Trust Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $70,000. 65.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price 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. Zacks Research raised shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Seaport Research Partners lowered shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Washington Trust Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.50.

Washington Trust Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of WASH stock opened at $38.85 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $740.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.49, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.72. Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.23 and a 1 year high of $40.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $36.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.36.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $60.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.91 million. Washington Trust Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 14.50%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Washington Trust Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st were given a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 1st. Washington Trust Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 77.78%.

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.