Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $40.26 and last traded at $40.11, with a volume of 33502 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $39.34.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WASH shares. Zacks Research upgraded Washington Trust Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Washington Trust Bancorp from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings raised Washington Trust Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Seaport Research Partners cut Washington Trust Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.50.

Washington Trust Bancorp Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $764.33 million, a P/E ratio of 13.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $36.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.06. Washington Trust Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 14.50%.The company had revenue of $60.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.91 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. will post 3.2 EPS for the current year.

Washington Trust Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st were issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. Washington Trust Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WASH. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 114.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,015 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in Washington Trust Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Washington Trust Bancorp by 24.6% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 200.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 367.2% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,869 shares during the last quarter. 65.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.