Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) has been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the two research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and one has issued a hold recommendation on the company.

Separately, Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st.

Washington Trust Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Washington Trust Bancorp stock opened at $24.92 on Monday. Washington Trust Bancorp has a 52 week low of $21.69 and a 52 week high of $33.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $25.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.27. The stock has a market cap of $424.46 million, a PE ratio of 8.87 and a beta of 0.81.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $45.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.38 million. Washington Trust Bancorp had a net margin of 13.19% and a return on equity of 10.53%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Washington Trust Bancorp will post 1.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Washington Trust Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 1st were issued a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.99%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 28th. Washington Trust Bancorp’s payout ratio is 79.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Washington Trust Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. New England Professional Planning Group Inc. boosted its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. New England Professional Planning Group Inc. now owns 10,528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027 shares during the period. Napatree Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $1,813,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 966,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,288,000 after buying an additional 22,169 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Washington Trust Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $259,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 126,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,084,000 after acquiring an additional 1,359 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.81% of the company’s stock.

About Washington Trust Bancorp

Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for The Washington Trust Company, of Westerly that provides various banking and financial services to individuals and businesses. The company operates in two segments, Commercial Banking and Wealth Management Services. The Commercial Banking segment offers deposit accounts, including interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing demand deposits, NOW and savings accounts, money market and retirement deposit accounts, and time deposits; various commercial and retail lending products, such as commercial real estate loans, including commercial mortgages, and construction and development loans; commercial and industrial loans comprising working capital, equipment financing, and financing for other business-related purposes; residential real estate loans that consist of mortgage and homeowner construction loans; and consumer loans comprising home equity loans and lines of credit, personal installment loans, and loans to individuals secured by general aviation aircraft.