Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) Reaches New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on the stock from $33.00 to $36.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Washington Trust Bancorp traded as high as $39.85 and last traded at $39.28, with a volume of 483430 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.32.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on WASH. Weiss Ratings raised Washington Trust Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Washington Trust Bancorp from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Seaport Research Partners lowered Washington Trust Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Washington Trust Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.50.

Insider Activity at Washington Trust Bancorp

In other news, CEO Edward O. Handy III acquired 3,195 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $31.32 per share, with a total value of $100,067.40. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,611,163.44. This trade represents a 6.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Rolando A. Lora sold 885 shares of Washington Trust Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.55, for a total transaction of $27,921.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $356,262.60. This trade represents a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 1,417.2% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 98,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,908,000 after acquiring an additional 91,936 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 73.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 44,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,275,000 after acquiring an additional 18,735 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $9,912,000. Baxter Bros Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $201,000. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Washington Trust Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth about $206,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.81% of the company’s stock.

Washington Trust Bancorp Stock Down 2.1%

The company has a market cap of $717.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a fifty day moving average of $34.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.65. 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 (NASDAQ:WASH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 anticipate that Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Washington Trust Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.0%. Washington Trust Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.78%.

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.