Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Washington Trust Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Washington Trust Bancorp from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Piper Sandler set a $32.00 price objective on Washington Trust Bancorp in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Washington Trust Bancorp has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.33.

Washington Trust Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:WASH opened at $33.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $641.46 million, a P/E ratio of 12.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $32.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.02. Washington Trust Bancorp has a one year low of $24.95 and a one year high of $37.08. 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 (NASDAQ:WASH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.08. Washington Trust Bancorp had a net margin of 13.26% and a return on equity of 9.75%. The company had revenue of $59.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $56.38 million. Equities analysts expect that Washington Trust Bancorp will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,140,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,953,000 after purchasing an additional 7,641 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 634,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,745,000 after buying an additional 74,145 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 1.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 473,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,389,000 after buying an additional 6,570 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Washington Trust Bancorp by 3.0% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 304,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,608,000 after acquiring an additional 8,938 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Drexel Morgan & Co. raised its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Drexel Morgan & Co. now owns 300,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,889,000 after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares in the last quarter. 65.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Washington Trust Bancorp

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.