Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold”

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Washington Trust Bancorp in a research note on Monday, March 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Washington Trust Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.33.

Washington Trust Bancorp Stock Performance

WASH opened at $32.13 on Friday. Washington Trust Bancorp has a 1-year low of $24.95 and a 1-year high of $37.08. The stock has a market cap of $611.76 million, a P/E ratio of 11.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $59.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $56.38 million. Washington Trust Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.75% and a net margin of 13.26%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Washington Trust Bancorp will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Washington Trust Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 1st. Washington Trust Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.96%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Washington Trust Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,140,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,953,000 after buying an additional 7,641 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Washington Trust Bancorp by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 634,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,745,000 after acquiring an additional 74,145 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Washington Trust Bancorp by 1.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 473,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,389,000 after acquiring an additional 6,570 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 3.0% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 304,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,608,000 after acquiring an additional 8,938 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Drexel Morgan & Co. increased its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Drexel Morgan & Co. now owns 300,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,889,000 after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.