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

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) from a "hold" to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday.
• Despite that upgrade, five analysts still rate the stock Hold and the MarketBeat consensus remains a Hold with an average target price of $31.33.
• Shares opened at $35.70 (market cap ~$679.7M); the company beat expectations last quarter with EPS of $0.83 vs. $0.75 forecast and revenue of $59.25M.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp in a research report on Monday, March 16th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Washington Trust Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.33.

Washington Trust Bancorp Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of WASH opened at $35.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $679.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.81. Washington Trust Bancorp has a 1 year low of $25.23 and a 1 year high of $37.08. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $34.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.80.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $59.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.38 million. Washington Trust Bancorp had a net margin of 13.26% and a return on equity of 9.75%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Washington Trust Bancorp will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Washington Trust Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WASH. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new position in Washington Trust Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 114.6% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,015 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 24.6% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,130 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 200.8% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,364 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 1,578 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 367.2% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,378 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 1,869 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.81% of the company's stock.

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.

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