Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.56

Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 20th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.56 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, April 11th. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.10%.

Washington Trust Bancorp has increased its dividend by an average of 2.2% annually over the last three years. Washington Trust Bancorp has a dividend payout ratio of 71.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Washington Trust Bancorp to earn $3.12 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 71.8%.

Washington Trust Bancorp Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of WASH stock opened at $31.54 on Friday. Washington Trust Bancorp has a 52-week low of $24.11 and a 52-week high of $40.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $607.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.35 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $31.84 and its 200-day moving average is $33.12.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. Washington Trust Bancorp had a positive return on equity of 8.99% and a negative net margin of 6.90%. Sell-side analysts predict that Washington Trust Bancorp will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WASH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Washington Trust Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

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.