Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $40.54 and last traded at $40.41, with a volume of 28084 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $39.75.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WASH. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research raised shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Washington Trust Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.50.

Washington Trust Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $773.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $60.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.91 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Washington Trust Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st were issued a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 1st. Washington Trust Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 52,765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,925,000 after acquiring an additional 5,667 shares during the period. Amundi grew its holdings in Washington Trust Bancorp by 25.8% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 7,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 1,574 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 4,978.9% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 800,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,192,000 after buying an additional 784,469 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $1,116,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,993,000. 65.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.