Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Washington Trust Bancorp from a "buy" to a "hold," and the stock carries a consensus analyst rating of Hold with a consensus price target of $31.33.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.66, missing estimates of $0.77 (revenue was reported at $98.35M versus $58.24M expected), and the shares opened at $30.81, trading down about 2%.
• Institutional ownership is high at about 65.81%, with several funds—including Franklin Resources, SG Americas, Qube, Drexel Morgan and Goldman Sachs—recently increasing their positions.

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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 research report on Friday, January 30th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp in a research report on Monday, March 16th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.33.

Washington Trust Bancorp Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:WASH opened at $30.81 on Friday. Washington Trust Bancorp has a 52 week low of $25.23 and a 52 week high of $37.08. The company's 50 day moving average is $33.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.14. 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 company has a market cap of $586.62 million, a PE ratio of 11.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.81.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.11). Washington Trust Bancorp had a net margin of 13.71% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The firm had revenue of $98.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $58.24 million. Equities analysts predict that Washington Trust Bancorp will post 3.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WASH. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Washington Trust Bancorp by 28.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 560,188 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,189,000 after purchasing an additional 123,734 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Washington Trust Bancorp by 1,417.2% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 98,423 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,908,000 after purchasing an additional 91,936 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in Washington Trust Bancorp by 173.8% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 88,373 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,554,000 after purchasing an additional 56,102 shares during the last quarter. Drexel Morgan & Co. grew its position in Washington Trust Bancorp by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Drexel Morgan & Co. now owns 300,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,889,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Washington Trust Bancorp by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 267,595 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,907,000 after purchasing an additional 36,937 shares during the last quarter. 65.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.