Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on WASH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Washington Trust Bancorp in a research report on Monday, March 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Washington Trust Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.33.

Washington Trust Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WASH traded up $0.54 during trading on Monday, hitting $35.04. 23,652 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 149,740. Washington Trust Bancorp has a 1-year low of $25.23 and a 1-year high of $37.08. The company has a market capitalization of $667.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.08. Washington Trust Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.75% and a net margin of 13.26%.The company had revenue of $59.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.38 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Washington Trust Bancorp will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Washington Trust Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WASH. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Washington Trust Bancorp by 28.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 560,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,189,000 after purchasing an additional 123,734 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Washington Trust Bancorp by 1,417.2% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 98,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,908,000 after purchasing an additional 91,936 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in Washington Trust Bancorp by 173.8% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 88,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,554,000 after purchasing an additional 56,102 shares during the last quarter. Drexel Morgan & Co. raised its position in Washington Trust Bancorp by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Drexel Morgan & Co. now owns 300,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,889,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Washington Trust Bancorp by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 267,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,907,000 after purchasing an additional 36,937 shares during the last quarter. 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.