Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) Declares $0.56 Quarterly Dividend

Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 20th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.56 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, April 11th. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.10%.

Washington Trust Bancorp has increased its dividend by an average of 2.2% per year over the last three years. Washington Trust Bancorp has a dividend payout ratio of 71.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Washington Trust Bancorp to earn $3.12 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 71.8%.

Washington Trust Bancorp Price Performance

Washington Trust Bancorp stock opened at $31.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $607.97 million, a P/E ratio of -20.35 and a beta of 0.80. Washington Trust Bancorp has a 52 week low of $24.11 and a 52 week high of $40.59. The business’s fifty day moving average is $31.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.12.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. Washington Trust Bancorp had a negative net margin of 6.90% and a positive return on equity of 8.99%. Equities research analysts forecast that Washington Trust Bancorp will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn raised Washington Trust Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th.

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.