Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) Downgraded to Neutral Rating by Seaport Research Partners

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Seaport Research Partners from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.50.

Washington Trust Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of WASH stock opened at $39.28 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $34.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Washington Trust Bancorp has a 12 month low of $25.23 and a 12 month high of $39.85. The company has a market capitalization of $749.07 million, a P/E ratio of 13.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.72.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.06. The company 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 10.24% and a net margin of 14.50%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Washington Trust Bancorp will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Ronald S. Ohsberg purchased 1,606 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $31.00 per share, with a total value of $49,786.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 29,705 shares in the company, valued at $920,855. This represents a 5.72% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP James Cannon Brown acquired 32,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $31.17 per share, with a total value of $997,440.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 37,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,162,017.60. This represents a 606.06% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired 36,801 shares of company stock worth $1,147,293 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Washington Trust Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WASH. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Washington Trust Bancorp by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 3.0% during the second quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 26,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $968,000 after buying an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 35.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 103,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,458,000 after buying an additional 27,080 shares in the last quarter. Amundi bought a new position in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 556.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 67,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,225,000 after acquiring an additional 57,329 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 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.