Shares of Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $54.00.
WASH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Compass Point downgraded shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $53.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Boenning Scattergood downgraded shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 26th. ValuEngine raised shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, BidaskClub cut shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th.
Washington Trust Bancorp stock opened at $53.79 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $52.99 and a 200-day moving average of $50.27. Washington Trust Bancorp has a one year low of $45.21 and a one year high of $54.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $933.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.69 and a beta of 0.66.
Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.12. Washington Trust Bancorp had a net margin of 26.76% and a return on equity of 14.84%. The company had revenue of $51.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.50 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Washington Trust Bancorp will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.79%. Washington Trust Bancorp’s payout ratio is 51.91%.
In other news, Director Katherine W. Hoxsie sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.55, for a total value of $105,100.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 26,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,366,930.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Aperio Group LLC raised its holdings in Washington Trust Bancorp by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Aperio Group LLC now owns 4,795 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Washington Trust Bancorp by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 816 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Washington Trust Bancorp by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 29,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,513,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Washington Trust Bancorp by 170.6% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 11,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $618,000 after acquiring an additional 7,456 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new position in Washington Trust Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. 58.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
About Washington Trust Bancorp
Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for The Washington Trust Company, of Westerly that offers various financial products and services to individuals and businesses. The company operates in two segments, Commercial Banking and Wealth Management Services. The Commercial Banking segment provides various commercial and retail lending products, which include commercial real estate loans consisting of commercial mortgages and construction loans; commercial and industrial loans; residential real estate loans; and consumer loans comprising home equity loans and lines of credit, personal installment loans, and loans to individuals secured by general aviation aircraft.
Recommended Story: What is the market perform rating?
