Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 322,600 shares, a decline of 67.1% from the December 31st total of 980,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 178,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Institutional Trading of Washington Trust Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its holdings in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 0.6% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 73,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,375,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 36,015 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,129,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 682 shares in the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Washington Trust Bancorp by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 7,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its position in Washington Trust Bancorp by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 56,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,820,000 after buying an additional 733 shares during the last quarter. 65.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WASH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st.

Washington Trust Bancorp Stock Performance

WASH traded down $0.03 on Thursday, hitting $32.45. The company had a trading volume of 178,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 188,931. Washington Trust Bancorp has a 1-year low of $24.11 and a 1-year high of $40.59. The stock has a market cap of $624.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.15 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. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $33.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.87.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. Washington Trust Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.55% and a net margin of 11.24%. Equities analysts predict that Washington Trust Bancorp will post 2.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Washington Trust Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Washington Trust Bancorp’s payout ratio is 83.90%.

About Washington Trust Bancorp

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.