Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) Stock Has Average Target Price of $37.00

Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the four research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $37.00.

WASH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Washington Trust Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. Seaport Research Partners cut shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Washington Trust Bancorp news, Director Edwin Santos sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.25, for a total transaction of $47,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 9,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $357,567.50. The trade was a 11.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Washington Trust Bancorp

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Washington Trust Bancorp by 107.8% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in Washington Trust Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Washington Trust Bancorp by 8.8% in the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. boosted its position in Washington Trust Bancorp by 3.0% in the second quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 26,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $968,000 after purchasing an additional 770 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 185.1% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.81% of the company’s stock.

Washington Trust Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of WASH opened at $39.30 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Washington Trust Bancorp has a 12 month low of $26.52 and a 12 month high of $40.54. The company has a market cap of $749.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.73.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.14. Washington Trust Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.67% and a net margin of 16.73%. The firm had revenue of $64.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.62 million. Research analysts anticipate that Washington Trust Bancorp will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Washington Trust Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st were issued a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. Washington Trust Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.27%.

About Washington Trust Bancorp

Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc is the holding company for The Washington Trust Company, a community-focused financial institution headquartered in Westerly, Rhode Island. Founded in 1800, Washington Trust is one of the oldest continuously operating banks in the United States.

The company provides commercial, small-business, residential mortgage and consumer banking services. Its offerings include deposit accounts, commercial and consumer loans, residential mortgages, cash-management services, online and mobile banking, and other financial services for individuals, families and businesses.

Washington Trust also operates a wealth-management business that provides investment management, financial planning, trust administration, estate planning and related services.