Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Strong Sell

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on WASH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Washington Trust Bancorp from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Washington Trust Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen cut Washington Trust Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on Washington Trust Bancorp in a research report on Monday, March 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.33.

Washington Trust Bancorp Stock Up 0.7%

Washington Trust Bancorp stock opened at $32.20 on Wednesday. Washington Trust Bancorp has a twelve month low of $25.23 and a twelve month high of $37.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $33.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $613.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.73.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.11). Washington Trust Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 13.71%.The company had revenue of $57.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.24 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Washington Trust Bancorp will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Washington Trust Bancorp news, CFO Ronald S. Ohsberg purchased 1,606 shares of Washington Trust Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $31.00 per share, with a total value of $49,786.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 29,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $920,855. This represents a 5.72% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward O. Handy III purchased 3,195 shares of Washington Trust Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $31.32 per share, with a total value of $100,067.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,611,163.44. This trade represents a 6.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired 36,801 shares of company stock valued at $1,147,293 over the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Washington Trust Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WASH. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 1,708 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 19,312 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 1,448 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 29,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $847,000 after buying an additional 2,670 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Washington Trust Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $409,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 304,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,608,000 after purchasing an additional 8,938 shares in the last quarter. 65.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.