Weiss Ratings Reaffirms Hold (C-) Rating for Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH)

Key Points

• Washington Trust Bancorp has had its "hold (C-)" rating reaffirmed by Weiss Ratings, indicating a cautious outlook on the stock's performance.
• Analyst reports show mixed sentiments, with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raising the target price to $30.00, while Piper Sandler reduced it to $27.00.
• The company reported earnings of $0.56 per share, surpassing expectations, but with a decline from the same period last year, posting a negative net margin of 6.22%.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c-)" rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued on Friday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Washington Trust Bancorp has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.33.

Washington Trust Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of WASH traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $27.82. The stock had a trading volume of 79,523 shares, compared to its average volume of 164,632. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $28.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.27. Washington Trust Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $24.95 and a fifty-two week high of $40.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $533.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.50, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.91.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.10. Washington Trust Bancorp had a negative net margin of 6.22% and a positive return on equity of 8.97%. The firm had revenue of $56.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $56.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Washington Trust Bancorp will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Washington Trust Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Washington Trust Bancorp by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 36,775 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,135,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $60,000 after buying an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 10.1% during the second quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 5,646 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 6.2% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey grew its holdings in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 23.9% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 4,736 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.