Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Washington Trust Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research cut Washington Trust Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Washington Trust Bancorp from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on Washington Trust Bancorp in a report on Monday, March 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.33.

Washington Trust Bancorp Stock Up 0.4%

Washington Trust Bancorp stock opened at $32.33 on Friday. 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 has a 1-year low of $25.23 and a 1-year high of $37.08. The company has a market cap of $615.56 million, a PE ratio of 11.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $33.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.43.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $57.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.24 million. Washington Trust Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 13.71%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Washington Trust Bancorp will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Washington Trust Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st were given a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.9%. Washington Trust Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Rolando A. Lora sold 885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.55, for a total value of $27,921.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $356,262.60. This represents a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP James Cannon Brown bought 32,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $31.17 per share, with a total value of $997,440.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,162,017.60. This trade represents a 606.06% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased 36,801 shares of company stock worth $1,147,293 over the last three months. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Washington Trust Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 114.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,015 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 24.6% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 200.8% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 1,578 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 367.2% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 1,869 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 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.