Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) in a report published on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $32.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

WASH has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Washington Trust Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.33.

Washington Trust Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ WASH opened at $32.25 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $33.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.34. The company has a market capitalization of $614.04 million, a P/E ratio of 11.94, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.85. Washington Trust Bancorp has a 1-year low of $24.95 and a 1-year high of $37.08. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $59.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $56.38 million. Washington Trust Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.75% and a net margin of 13.26%. Sell-side analysts expect that Washington Trust Bancorp will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Washington Trust Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. Washington Trust Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.96%.

Institutional Trading of Washington Trust Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 0.7% during 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 last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Washington Trust Bancorp by 13.2% in 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Washington Trust Bancorp by 1.4% in 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 last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position 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 valued at $8,608,000 after acquiring an additional 8,938 shares during the period. Finally, Drexel Morgan & Co. grew its position 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 valued at $8,889,000 after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares during the period. 65.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.