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

Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the four ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $34.50.

Several research analysts have issued reports 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 report on Friday, June 26th. Seaport Research Partners lowered shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research lowered Washington Trust Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Washington Trust Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th.

Insider Transactions at Washington Trust Bancorp

In other news, EVP Rolando A. Lora sold 885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.55, for a total transaction of $27,921.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $356,262.60. The trade was a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP James Cannon Brown purchased 32,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $31.17 per share, for a total transaction of $997,440.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 37,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,162,017.60. This trade represents a 606.06% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased a total of 36,801 shares of company stock worth $1,147,293 over the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Washington Trust Bancorp

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in 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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Washington Trust Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $70,000. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Washington Trust Bancorp by 24.6% in the second 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 period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position 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 buying an additional 1,578 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 367.2% in the third 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.81% of the company’s stock.

Washington Trust Bancorp Trading Up 8.1%

Washington Trust Bancorp stock opened at $39.28 on Wednesday. Washington Trust Bancorp has a 12-month low of $25.23 and a 12-month high of $39.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $749.07 million, a PE ratio of 13.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.52.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.06. Washington Trust Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.24% and a net margin of 14.50%.The firm had revenue of $60.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.91 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Washington Trust Bancorp will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Washington Trust Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 1st were given a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.7%. Washington Trust Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.05%.

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.