Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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 research report on Friday, January 30th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp in a research report on Monday, March 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.33.

Washington Trust Bancorp Stock Up 1.4%

WASH stock opened at $34.98 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $666.02 million, a PE ratio of 12.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.81. Washington Trust Bancorp has a 12 month low of $25.23 and a 12 month 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $59.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.38 million. Washington Trust Bancorp had a net margin of 13.26% and a return on equity of 9.75%. Equities analysts expect that Washington Trust Bancorp will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Washington Trust Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. Washington Trust Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.96%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Washington Trust Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WASH. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 28.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 560,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,189,000 after buying an additional 123,734 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 1,417.2% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 98,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,908,000 after buying an additional 91,936 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 173.8% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 88,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,554,000 after buying an additional 56,102 shares during the period. Drexel Morgan & Co. lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 267,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,907,000 after buying an additional 36,937 shares during the period. 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.