Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) Sets New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $35.09 and last traded at $35.07, with a volume of 12437 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $34.46.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Washington Trust Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $593.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $32.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.87.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $103.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.32 million. Washington Trust Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 11.24%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Washington Trust Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.43%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. Washington Trust Bancorp’s payout ratio is 82.66%.

Institutional Trading of Washington Trust Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 86.3% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 1,585 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 29.9% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 20.1% during the third quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 4,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 787 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Morris Harris LLC acquired a new position in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Finally, IFG Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Washington Trust Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Institutional investors own 65.81% of the company’s stock.

About Washington Trust Bancorp

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.