Hennessy Advisors Inc. Has $1.88 Million Stock Position in Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,000 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Washington Trust Bancorp were worth $1,881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Washington Trust Bancorp by 2.2% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 28,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $773,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $551,000 after buying an additional 1,118 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $7,755,000 after buying an additional 40,122 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 7.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 826,057 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,642,000 after buying an additional 59,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 56.6% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 108,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,979,000 after acquiring an additional 39,268 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WASH. StockNews.com lowered shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Washington Trust Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of WASH stock opened at $32.83 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $34.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.55. Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.11 and a 12 month high of $40.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $632.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.30 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Washington Trust Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Washington Trust Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.90%.

Washington Trust Bancorp 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.