Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) shares gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $36.30, but opened at $35.40. Washington Trust Bancorp shares last traded at $35.01, with a volume of 214,026 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Washington Trust Bancorp Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.48. The stock has a market cap of $589.26 million, a PE ratio of 13.60 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.08. Washington Trust Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.55% and a net margin of 11.24%. The company had revenue of $103.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.32 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Washington Trust Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.49%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. Washington Trust Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.90%.

Institutional Trading of Washington Trust Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WASH. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 826,057 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,642,000 after acquiring an additional 59,115 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Washington Trust Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,529,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Washington Trust Bancorp by 16.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 282,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,755,000 after purchasing an additional 40,122 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Washington Trust Bancorp by 56.6% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 108,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,979,000 after buying an additional 39,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $1,258,000. 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.