Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) Share Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH)’s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $28.46 and traded as high as $31.48. Washington Trust Bancorp shares last traded at $31.26, with a volume of 104,413 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WASH has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.33.

Washington Trust Bancorp Stock Up 0.8%

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.46. The company has a market capitalization of $594.88 million, a PE ratio of -19.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $56.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $56.39 million. Washington Trust Bancorp had a negative net margin of 6.22% and a positive return on equity of 8.90%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Washington Trust Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. Washington Trust Bancorp’s payout ratio is -140.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WASH. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its position in Washington Trust Bancorp by 19.3% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 22,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $662,000 after buying an additional 3,701 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 173.8% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 88,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,554,000 after acquiring an additional 56,102 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 8,861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 75,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,186,000 after purchasing an additional 11,072 shares during the period. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 495.1% in the third quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 10,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 8,774 shares in 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 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.