Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Separately, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Washington Trust Bancorp Trading Down 3.5 %

Washington Trust Bancorp stock opened at $29.58 on Friday. Washington Trust Bancorp has a one year low of $24.11 and a one year high of $40.59. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $34.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.42. The company has a market capitalization of $569.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.08. Washington Trust Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.55% and a net margin of 11.24%. The business had revenue of $103.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Washington Trust Bancorp will post 2.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Washington Trust Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 7.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 826,057 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,642,000 after buying an additional 59,115 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new position in Washington Trust Bancorp during the second quarter worth $1,529,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 16.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 282,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,755,000 after purchasing an additional 40,122 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Washington Trust Bancorp by 56.6% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 108,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,979,000 after purchasing an additional 39,268 shares during the period. Finally, Zacks Investment Management acquired a new stake in Washington Trust Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $1,258,000. Institutional investors own 65.81% of the company’s stock.

Washington Trust Bancorp Company Profile

Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for The Washington Trust Company, of Westerly that provides various banking and financial services to individuals and businesses. The company operates in two segments, Commercial Banking and Wealth Management Services. The Commercial Banking segment offers deposit accounts, including interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing demand deposits, NOW and savings accounts, money market and retirement deposit accounts, and time deposits; various commercial and retail lending products, such as commercial real estate loans, including commercial mortgages, and construction and development loans; commercial and industrial loans comprising working capital, equipment financing, and financing for other business-related purposes; residential real estate loans that consist of mortgage and homeowner construction loans; and consumer loans comprising home equity loans and lines of credit, personal installment loans, and loans to individuals secured by general aviation aircraft.